Bridging the Gap
by ahilty
Summary: A YuGiOhHarry Potter Crossover...From the east four shall come. Thief King, Pharaoh, Priest and Guardian, Two to the Lion, two the Snake. The gap between the two will be bridged...
1. Chapter 1

An Author's Note: Yes, this is yet another Yugioh/Harry Potter Crossover. I hope you like my effort…

I own neither Yugioh nor Harry Potter…but I do own the Black Fox. No one uses the Black Fox but me.

* * *

Chapter 1

Prophecy…So What Else is New?

Ryo Bakura listened to the evil spirit inside his ring rant and rage. It was just after the Battle City tournament, and when both of them had gotten back from the Shadow Realm the evil thief in the Ring had been throwing what could only be called a temper tantrum from three full hours. Bakura supposed it was a miracle that the Spirit had not taken him over and done something stupid…like stab himself in the arm again. While Bakura had no actual memory of the Spirit stabbing their arm (seeing as how he had been virtually comatose throughout the entire ordeal) he did not want it to happen again.

Bakura sighed and sank onto the couch in his apartment, wondering whether or not he should do the world a favor and jump out the window. He might have…if he didn't know perfectly well that the Spirit would stop him…

When it started happening Bakura first thought that the Spirit's anger had gotten the better of him, and that they were being pulled into the Shadow Realm again…until he saw the stars. The Shadow Realm did not have stars as far as he knew.

Bakura shot up and then swooned. He felt an odd pulling sensation, and then his evil self was standing next to him, looking confused and furious.

"What is the meaning of this!?" Yami Bakura bellowed.

"Oh, we have a temper now, don't we?" someone said from behind them.

Bakura and his yami turned around to behold what had to be the strangest looking…something or other they had yet to encounter (and that was saying something).

The creature at first looked like a human wearing a black fur coat and a fox mask…only the mask was not a mask at all but a face with the upper jaw of a fox and the lower jaw of a human. The creature's eyes were a strange kaleidoscope of swirling rainbow colors. Its sharp fangs where bared in a mocking grin spookily similar to Yami Bakura's own favorite expression. It was the face of someone who knew that they were in complete control of the situation.

Yami Bakura was not one to be intimidated by anything, and he stalked towards the creature with a thunderous look. The real Bakura decided that it was wisest to back away. Very far away…as far away as he could get without getting lost in a void…

"Send us back to Earth now!" Yami Bakura demanded.

"No…I have business with you." The creature said "You can call me the Black Fox if you wish-"

"Silence!" Yami Bakura shouted "You will send me back right now!"

"How…cute." The Black Fox's grin grew even more mocking "The little puppy thinks he has some bite, eh?"

"You'll pay!" Yami Bakura drew his deck out from somewhere, but before he had a chance to pick a card the deck was flying out of his hands and into the grip of the Black Fox.

"Now now, boy, if you can't play nice with your toys they will have to be taken away from you." With that the Black Fox opened her mouth wide and swallowed the deck whole.

Both Bakura's mouths dropped open. Even the mouthy Spirit was flabbergasted.

"Now…as for the rest of your toys…"The Black Fox extended her paw/hand palm upwards and then clenched it into a fist.

Yami Bakura screamed. His host had never heard his evil side make a sound so hideous and pain filled. Something black and slimy seemed to shoot out of Yami Bakura's chest and flew to the Black Fox. It vanished once it reached her.

Yami Bakura dropped to his knees trembling. He felt…empty…lost…as if a part of himself had just been ripped away.

"This is going to hurt you much more than it will hurt me…" The Black Fox was still grinning like a loon. She pointed at Yami Bakura and he was surrounded by golden energy. He started screaming again.

"STOP!" Bakura (the nice one) had no idea why, but he just could not watch another in so much pain…even the person who had been making his life a torment for a long time "STOP HURTING HIM!"

The Black Fox did not look at him "From now on, Tomb Robber you will not be able to hurt another living soul, unless they have hurt you or another first. You will not be able to summon the Shadow Realm again. You will not be able to seal souls into items again. You will not have the power to bring monsters to life. All you have now is the Rings powers of detection…and your thieving skills I suppose…"

The energy finally stopped, and the now drained Yami Bakura fell to the ground (or maybe he just hovered horizontally in the void…it was kind of hard to tell), shivering and moaning in pain. He had never felt so helpless in a long long time…and he sure did not like the feeling.

He glared up at the Black Fox with hate filled eyes. "Why?" he demanded. Impressively his voice was steady, even if the rest of him was not.

The Black Fox started walking, but paused for a moment to answer "Maybe when you have learned to use your toys better they will be returned to you…"

Her eyes landed on the other Bakura, and her expression softened. She approached him, but he was too frightened to even try to run away.

What she did next surprised him. Like a magician in an old fashioned carnival she reached behind the trembling boy's ear…and pulled out a monster card.

"Have an early Christmas present kid." She said as she handed the card to him. Her claw touched his forehead and Bakura suddenly felt a strange warm feeling flooding through him. Baffled at all of this he could do nothing but stare at the strange…whatever she was.

The Black Fox vanished, and the strange starry void left with her. The Spirit was back in his Ring. From it Bakura could hear something he never expected to hear…

Weeping.

* * *

"Yugi! Wake up!"

"Whatzzit?" Yugi Muto shot up and found himself laying in his bed…in the middle of…the universe?

Oh great, what now?

Yami, the Pharaoh, was standing at the edge of Yugi's bed, looking around as if waiting for an assault.

"Pharaoh! Is it the Shadow Realm?" Yugi asked.

"I don't think so…" The Pharaoh still looked like he was ready to duel something, if something chose to attack.

"Hi kids…having a bad night are we?" The Black Fox appeared (as you can see she does that a lot) with her evil mocking grin plastered all over her face.

Oh yes, the Black Fox loved her job.

"Who-"

"Black Fox, and your Yugi Muto and his little…hanger on?" The Black Fox said. Yugi was shocked. This was the first time anyone had referred to Yami as a hanger on.

"Mind if I take these?" The Black Fox held up to very familiar cards, The Winged Dragon of Ra and Obelisk the Tormentor.

"I need those to-"

"Unlock the secrets of the Pharaoh, yadda yadda yadda….has it occurred to you yet that the secret was locked away for a reason?"

Yami gapped "What do you know?" he demanded.

"Everything." The Black Fox said.

"What…do you mean?"

"I've seen the stars live and die, kid. I've seen the birth of time and space. I've seen the Demon Sultan and spit in his eye…that was a good day. I've seen…everything." The Black Fox's grin was gone, and now she looked dead serious. "Trust me for now…and things will be…much better than they could be."

"Is there danger! Is something threatening the world again?" Yami demanded.

"Always, everyday….you nothing of what is going on. You are the ant and I am the god…do you understand?"

"Maybe we should listen to her…" Yugi said. He was not sure he liked the look of this Black Fox…but…

"Actually you don't really have a choice here, you can't stop me…but I have a little present for you." The Black Fox pointed at Yugi, and he felt the same warmth that had flowed through Bakura only moments before. "Nighty." The Black Fox grinned and departed.

Stunned silence for a few moments.

"What just happened?" Yugi asked.

"I…don't know…" Yami had a bad feeling about this…

* * *

The Black Fox repeated this process with two others: Seto Kaibaand Marik Ishtar, whose reactions where basically what you would have expected, confusion and (in the case of Kaiba) utter disbelief. However, both were not exactly sad when they woke up the next morning with two certain God Cards restored to their decks. Truth be told, Kaiba practically danced. Both were willing to forget about the "present" the Black Fox had mentioned.

For as you might guess the cards were not truly the present at all…

There was one more task to complete….

* * *

On the other side of the world (England to be precise) a teenage boy with messy black hair and a lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead was tossing and turning in his sleep.

For the past two months, ever since Voldemort had returned, Harry Potter had been having nightmares.

But this dream was different.

He was standing in front of a strange tablet covered in Egyptian hieroglyphics. Then the stone broke and four monsters stood in its place. One was a red dragon, one a golden bird like creature, one a blue giant, and the other a white lion with black feathered wings.

A voice boomed:

_From the east four shall come._

_Thief King, Pharaoh, Priest and Guardian, _

_Two to the Lion, two the Snake._

_The and the gap between the two will be bridged_

Harry woke up, confused, his scar burning like mad.

* * *

The Black Fox grinned.

"Now…time for the fun…"


	2. Chapter 2

An Author's note: This will take place during the fifth Harry Potter book (so I can have Yami Bakura torment my lest favorite teacher in the series…hehehe…the fact that the fifth one happens to be my favorite one also has a lot to do with the decision).

Be prepared, however, for me to utterly mangle the canon of both Harry Potter and Yugioh alike…I do that a lot. Free expression and all that…

/blah blah blah/ is going to indicate mind talking of all kinds.

Underlined text indicates another language being spoken. Usually in Japan this will be English, but once we switch to English it will indicate Japanese being spoken (unless I say otherwise)

No, I still don't own Harry Potter or Yu-Gi-Oh...

* * *

Chapter Two

Sudden Magic

Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, was having a very trying time.

Normally, he was a very calm man, but the complete and utter…shall we say stupidity, of the Ministry of Magic was starting to grind his last nerve. No matter how many times he argued with them they simply refused to believe that Lord Voldemort had returned.

He supposed you could not really blame them, however. It was not that long ago that they were all living in fear of a man that dared not speak the name of. It was only natural that the wizarding world in general would not want hear the fact that Voldemort was back.

It did not help matters that Rita Skeeter had written that rather…one sided report on Harry Potter last year. Now, because of that one article most witches and wizards thought Harry an attention seeking troublemaker. No one would listen to his account of Voldemort's return even if Harry had told it.

Dumbledore's musings were interrupted by the sudden appearance of an owl. The bird landed on his desk with a note tied to its leg as well as a small package.

Dumbledore opened the letter and gave the owl a generous tip. The owl flapped off as Dumbledore scanned the letter.

_Dear Professor Dumbledore, _

_I have received your letter concerning the events of last year, and I while I find it hard to believe that the Dark Lord may have returned I do your story. You have never been wrong as far as we have known each other, and I doubt that you would be mistaken in this._

_However, the majority of the Dragon Council does not agree with my views. They prefer Cornelius Fudge's version, and will not listen to reason. _

_However, if there is something I can do to help, know that I am willing and able._

_Which brings me to my second point._

_Just yesterday I detected in the area of Domino City four strong magical energies the likes of which I have never encountered before. Investigating I discovered that these four individuals are not only potential wizards, but are apparently "late bloomers", as they are all around the age of sixteen or seventeen._

_Rather than bring them to the Imperial Magic Academy, I have requested that they be sent to Hogwarts. With Voldemort at large it would be best to send these four to a place were they can be the most protected. Much as I hate to admit it, Hogwarts is this place._

_One of them is not Japanese at all, but Egyptian. I have taken the liberty of talking to the Egyptian wizards, and fortunately for us all of their schools are full. They have agreed to send this young man to Hogwarts._

_I have sent you some information on them. I do not know if it means anything, but aside from coming into magic late in life they also have one other odd quality. Have you heard of the card game known as Duel Monsters? It is very popular here, even among young wizards. Ironically, all four of these boys were finalists at the last tournament, and are four of the highest ranking duelists in the world. Once again, I do not know what this might mean, but perhaps you will._

_Please tell me if there is anything I can do for the Order,_

_The Green Dragon_

Dumbledore reread the letter a few times, and then took a look at the small package. Inside the package were more papers. They appeared to be short biographies of each of the new recruits, complete with small photographs of the non moving variety probably taken from some source other than magical...

Dumbledore picked up the first one. The picture accompanying it was of a serous looking brown haired young man with blue eyes.

_Seto Kaiba._

_President of a large company, Kaiba Corp. By all reports known to be shrewd and a cunning businessman. Adopted by the original president of Kaiba Corp and took over the company after his death. Third ranked duelist in the world._

The next photo and accompanying bio was of a brown skinned, white haired purple eyed young man with more ornaments on him than a jewel shop.

_Marik Ishtar._

_Native of Egypt. Could not get that much information on him, but supposedly comes from a long line of tomb keepers. Second best duelist as of last tournament._

The next photo caused Dumbledore to raise an eyebrow. Was that white hair natural? If not then the boy had done an excellent job of bleaching it…

_Ryo Bakura._

_High School student. Father is an archeologist working out of country. Scored last in the Battle City Finals. Also rumors have stated that this boy was the cause of several near fatal cases of comatose, but nothing was proven magical or otherwise. _

If Bakura's appearance had mildly startled Dumbledore, then next boy's multicolored spiky hair caused the other eyebrow join its fellow under its owner's hair.

_Yugi Muto_

_Also know as "The King of Games" in dueling circles. As the title suggests he is the best duelist in the world. Family owns a game shop, but little else is known._

Dumbledore put down the papers and sighed. Usually his friend the Green Dragon was far more thorough than that…

It was fishy…in fact the entire thing was fishy. Four young men, each in the same basic area suddenly getting magic literally overnight? And they all most certainly knew each other, seeing as how they all played this card game…

Dumbledore was greatly inclined to refuse them entry. This might be a trick…

But if it were not…

Then he would be violating his most sacred rule: everyone deserved a chance at Hogwarts. No, he could not just refuse these children a proper magical education. He would just have to be wary just in case.

He just had to hope that nothing bad would happen.

* * *

"So two of your God Cards are gone?" Joey asked in concern.

It was the day after the rather strange encounter with the Black Fox, and Yugi and his friends were meeting in his grandpa's game shop. All three of them had listened intently as Yugi told them about what happened last night. No one even thought about doubting him. This was Yugi after all.

Joey cursed. "We need to go after this guy and get your cards back, Yug!"

Yugi, however, was not so sure. He kept thinking about what the Black Fox had said. It sounded like she had been trying to say that things would be better if the Pharaoh's past were to be kept buried. What if she was right?

The shop door banged open and very excited looking Bakura rushed in.

With the Millinum Ring on…

Now, while Joey did kinda like Bakura as a friend the evil spirit inside of that Ring scared him. Maybe it was the fact that his first experience with the spirit ended up with Joey in a dress…

Whatever the reason, as soon as he saw the Ring Joey jumped and started backing away very quickly.

"YAAAA! Evil spirit! Get outta here! Shoo!"

For a second a hurt look crossed Bakura's features, but then it was gone. He knew he shouldn't blame Joey for his reaction (even though it did hurt).

He should be blaming the spirit.

Said spirit had said absolutely nothing ever since last night. In fact, he had basically gone into his own soul room and was not responding to anything. Bakura was not sure if he was mourning or sulking. It was kinda hard to tell, but the spirit was most likely sulking….

"Guys, you'll never believe what happened last night…" Quickly as he could (just in case the Pharaoh decided he was going to challenge him to game thinking he was the evil spirit) Bakura told them about his experience with the Black Fox that night. Frightened stares to turned to looks of dread.

"Bakura…the same thing happened to me and Yami last night…only she didn't do anything to the Pharaoh and-"

"Wait a minute, wait a minute!" Joey interrupted. "How do we know this is really Bakura we're talking to? No offense pal, but that spirit of yours has pulled stunts like this before…"

Bakura looked down at the ground and mumbled something that sounded like "I know." _Great, the only friends I managed to make hate me…and guess whose fault that is?_

A pause, then.

/_Why should I care about the brats you hang out with?/_

_/I wasn't really talking to you…/_

_/hmmp/_

The spirit did not say anything else.

Yami took over Yugis body (with permission of course) and walked over to Bakura. He wanted very badly to belive that the Black Fox had somehow put limits on the evil beings powers, but he felt that he had to make sure. He was not certain how he could do this (he kinda wished he had the Millennium Ankh owned by Shadi), but he had to try. What he was going to try he did not know. Maybe he could get a better idea if he could take a closer look at the Ring.

"Bakura, can I see the Ring?" Yami asked. Bakura nodded and handed it over to him without hesitation (and ignoring Yami Bakura's sudden squawk of protest).

As soon as he had touched the Ring Yami knew that Bakura was right. He could sense that the Ring's powers were greatly weakened, and that it was not as much of a threat as it was before…

"Can I have it back now, please?" Bakura said timidly.

"Why would you even want it back?" Tristan asked curiously, "After what it did to you?"

Bakura hunched his shoulders and shrugged "It's kind of hard to explain…"

Yugi had a feeling he knew. He had always felt that Yami was not just the spirit of an ancient Pharaoh, but a part of his very soul. Even though the spirit of the Ring was evil it was likely that Bakura felt the same way.

Besides, now that the Ring's powers had been diminished, surly there would be no more trouble from it, right?

Yugi took over and handed the Ring to Bakura, who seemed very grateful to have it back.

The door opened once again. Three guesses on who it was…

Okay, it was Marik.

"Great! What it this? A Battle City reunion?" Joey asked "If Kaiba shows up I'm leavin…"

Marik opened his mouth, but before he could talk Yugi interrupted him.

"This wouldn't have anything to do with strange fox creatures visiting you in the night with "presents" would it?" he asked.

Marik's jaw slammed shut. "How did you know?" he asked after a long pause.

They proceed to exchanged stories. As you can imagine everyone was puzzled and bit upset.

"I thought I should return this…seeing as how…" Marik stopped speaking as he pulled out the Winged Dragon of Ra and tried to hand it to Yugi. As soon as it had left his hand, however, it faded away.

"Huh?" Yugi stared at his empty hand "Where did it go?"

Marik's eyes widened. He quickly pulled out his deck. At the very top was a certain God Card.

"Okay, that's weirder than weird." Tristan said.

As if to top of the weirdness three owls swooped into the shop and dropped letters on Yugi, Bakura, and Marik's heads…After which they landed on the counter top and started preening themselves.

"Why do I get the feeling that this is going to include a bunch of crazy duelists and the end of the world?" Joey groaned.

"Ummm, your feeling is a bit off Joey." Yugi said as he read his letter.

"Huh?"

"This letter…is about a magic school."

* * *

"Mokuba!!!" Kaiba bellowed from the other end of the rather expensive apartment that he and his brother shared.

Mokuba, who was still asleep, groaned and stumbled to where his brother had been bellowing.

"What's wrong Seto?" he yawned.

Kaiba thrust a letter into Mokuba's hand. "Did you put this on my desk? Is this a joke? And what's with the owl!?"

Mokuba looked up and saw a great horned owl peering at him from his brother's desk.

Mokuba blinked a few times, then looked down at the letter and started reading aloud, his speech interrupted by the occasional yawn. "Dear Mr. Kaiba (yawn) we are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts….Hogwarts?"

"Keep reading." Kaiba growled irritably.

"School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment (yawn). As you are a late starter you will be placed in the fifth year. Term begins on September (yawn) first. Please be at Kings Cross station in London at platform 9 and three quarters to board the train…platform what?"

Kaiba didn't say anything, he just growled.

"We await your owl by no later than July thirty first….you think they mean that owl?" Mokuba pointed at the bird perched on the desk.

Kaiba snarled.

"Oh, come on, Seto, I didn't do this." Mokuba said. "How would I get a owl in here?"

"Well if it was not you it must have been someone else…who would be stupid enough to play this kind of prank?" Kaiba stared pacing around.

Mokuba sighed. He knew his brother would never admit to the possibility of real magic, despite all that he had seen. It was rather annoying, but there it was…

Mokuba started to grin. Having a wizard brother in the family would be cool…

He set to work trying to convince his brother to attend; a task which took several hours. In the end, Kaiba caved in, rationalizing that if he could find out how these people did this than it would prove to Yugi and his gang that they were all delusional.

* * *

Meanwhile, a more open minded group of people were discussing this very same thing…

"Ya gotta go Yugi!" Joey said, happy as a clam for his best friend. "Just think about it, a magic school! It'll be great!"

"I thought you didn't like magic?" Tea teased.

"Well, no…but I'm not going!" Joey replied.

No one really got the logic in this statement combined with that attitude…

"But…I don't speak that much English…" Yugi said. It was true. Out of the four of the usual group only Tea really spoke fluent English. Since she wanted to live in New York one day she figured she would learn the language. Joey only knew two words: card and beer (don't ask). Tristan did not speak it at all, and Yugi knew a few simple essential phrases: "Where is the bathroom", "where is food", "how much" and "let's duel"…

"I can teach you." Tea volunteered.

"Can anyone teach me…" Marik asked quietly "I really only know 'stay away from the mummy**…**'"

"No problem, do need any lessons Bakura?" Tea asked.

"No…I know the language pretty well. Since my father always travels he insisted I know it"

"I'm defiantly going." Yugi decided "Are you two?"

Bakura and Marik nodded.

"Great!" Yugi said enthusiastically. They each wrote out a brief response and tied the responses to the legs of the waiting owls, who were looking a bit bored with current events.

However, as they flew off Yugi thought of something.

"How are we supposed to get to England?!"

* * *

A/N: I kinda stole the letter from the one in the first Harry Potter book (execpt for a few parts). I figured it would be a form letter anyway... 


	3. Chapter 3

An Author's note: Please note that from now on until I say so the underlined text will indicate Japanese being spoken.

You might find some cannon twisting in this chapter…

* * *

Chapter 3

England

It was a good thing that the Ishtars had yet to leave Japan for Egypt, and Ishizu did not have a problem with giving the Pharaoh and the others a lift to England. Tristan, Tea and Joey were eager to see a bit of this magic, so Ishizu also agreed to fly them back to Japan after they had seen the three new wizards off to school in about a week.

Kaiba, who had no idea that he was going to be going to school with his arch-rival, flew via Blue-Eyes White Jet. He was also taking his laptop, determined to run his company long distance in between classes.

Finally the Ishtar plane arrived in England. Ishizu went to book hotel rooms (they had a week until term started) and left the others to attend to their business. Odion went with them…actually he went with Marik, but since they where all going the same basic direction…

Yugi found it interesting how the man's basic attitude had subtly changed. He used to be Marik's subordinate, but now with the way he held himself he radiated the attitude of someone making absolutely sure that the one they were watching was not going to run amok.

"Okay, so where are we supposed to be going?" Joey asked, looking around at the tightly smashed together buildings of London. Did all English people live like sardines? (1)

"Looks like…someplace called Diagon Alley." Yugi said as he looked at the school supply sheet he had received. "Let's go."

One trip through the London Underground later the group found themselves in front of a rather nondescript looking bar called the Leaky Cauldron.

"How come no one else seems to notice this place?" Joey asked as the general passerby walked by the little place without seeming to see it.

"Some sort of hocus pocus I bet." Tristan said, giving the Leaky Cauldron a skeptical look.

They entered the building. The inside looked like just an ordinary bar. Except for the person in the back with really really pale skin and what looked like fangs. Had to be vampire…

"Okay…now where is this alley supposed to be?" Marik looked around the room, pointy ignoring the fanged person.

"Let me handle it." Tea said as she walked up to the bartender "Hey, can you tell me where we can find Diagon Alley?"

The bartender gave the group skeptical looks "Who are you people?"

"They're transferring to Hogwarts this year." Tea pointed to Marik, Bakura and Yugi. If anything the bartender looked even more suspicious.

"Just tap the brick in the wall above the trash can with your wand, third up second across." The man finally muttered in a rude tone.

"Thanks." Tea said, giving the man one last slightly irritated look. Were all wizards this rude?

"Okay, we need to tap a certain brick with a wand…but you three don't have those yet, do you?" Tea said to the others.

A pause, then: "Think the Millennium Rod would work?" Marik help up said Rod.

"Worth a shot." Yugi said.

They went over to the alleged wall and Marik taped the brick with the tip of his Rod. To everyone's surprise and relief the wall moved away brick by brick and admitted them to Diagon Alley.

"Wow" Bakura muttered.

Wow pretty much summed it up. The street was lined with shops all selling the kind of things one would usually expect at a fantasy convention, only this stuff was real. The windows in the shops held such items as cauldrons, wands, owls and various gross items that looked like they would be used for potions. A small toy broom whizzed over their heads, followed by a laughing child chasing it. People dressed in robes clogged the streets.

"I'm dead." Bakura muttered "I'm dead and now I'm in heaven."

Yugi gave him a surprised look, but then remembered the first game he had ever played with Bakura (okay, with the evil spirit, but still). It was Monster World, a role playing game. Yugi had never really given it that much thought, but Bakura probably loved magic and this sort of thing. Judging from the rapturous look on Bakura's face, Yugi was right.

"We should probably find the bank and exchange our yen with whatever money they use in this place." Joey said.

* * *

If the alley itself had caused Bakura to go into a fit of delight, the sign above the wizarding bank Gringotts caused the spirit to become almost as excited as his host. To most, the sign above the bank would have been a warning, to the spirit it was a challenge.

/But look at it!/ the spirit bellowed /They are practically daring me to rob this place!/

/They are not, Yami./ Bakura said with a sigh /They do not want you to rob their bank, they want you to stay away from the bank./

/Then why would they put a-/

/Please don't rob the bank…at least not today. Please?/

/…okay, I won't rob the bank…today./ and with that the spirit fell silent once again.

It was probably a good thing that Bakura had managed to convince the spirit not to go on a stealing spree. The goblins in the bank looked kinda like something from a Duel Monster's deck. They made Bakura as nervous as they made his spirit keyed up at the challenge.

Fortunately they managed to exchange the money without mishap…well…almost.

As they were leaving the bank, Bakura caught the words "Claws of the Thief King" from a pair of talking goblins.

/STOP! LISTEN!/ The spirit bellowed.

Bakura, shocked by the sudden outburst, did as he was told.

"Yes, in vault one hundred, the Claws of the Thief King Bakura himself." One of the goblins said.

"Will they be safe?" the other asked.

"Of course, after all, only the Thief King himself could use them…"

/Okay, get to walking again./ The spirit said /Don't draw attention to us./

Bakura started walking /What was that all about./

/…the Claws…MY Claws…I thought they were destroyed…/

/Your Claws?/

/Yes! I forged them to be the ideal thieving tools! And they were until I lost them in a tomb! I forged those things myself, Bakura! I need to get them back!/ the spirit was practically ranting.

/Forged them?/

/Yes forged. You know, with an anvil?/

/I…thought you were a thief./

/Idiot, you think I just woke up one morning as a boy and said 'I wanna be a thief?' No! I was training to be a blacksmith before…/

/Before?/

/Never mind…./

* * *

The spirit was silent for the most part for the rest of the trip. He did not say a word as they shopped for what seemed like hundreds of books at the bookstore (they had four years to catch up on after all). He did not say anything when the picked up cauldrons and potions supplies.

He did not even comment about the strangeness of the wand buying. While the three Millennium item holders did not take as long to find their wands as some had before them, it did take a few tries for each of them to find the right one.

But the time taken was not the strange part.

"Okay, don't you guys think that it's a bit weird that all of your wands where made from the same black oak?" Joey asked, giving the wands a skeptical look.

"Well, that Ollivander guy said they had different cores…" Yugi said as he inspected his own wand.

"What where they again?" Tea said, fascinated.

"Marik's was a phoenix feather, Bakura's was a unicorn hair and mine was dragon heartstring." Yugi keep studying the wand, wondering what in the world a dragon heartstring was supposed to look like anyway.

"Looks like we got everything cept the pets…you guys really want animals?" Tristan asked.

"Might as well, we're here aren't we?" Marik growled.

* * *

The moment they walked into the store something with black leathery wings fluttered in Bakura's face, hissing.

/What the-/ For a second the spirit managed to take control of Bakura's arm. Quickly he snagged the thing out of the air and away from his host's face. The creature in his hands was…well it was a dragon. A very small, owl sized dragon…

"Don't worry, it can't breathe fire. It just blows smoke." The store owner called from the counter.

"What is it?" Bakura asked. The spirit had release him, but he kept his grip on the dragon.

"A mistake." The storekeeper grumbled "Some fool tried to cast a Shrinking Charm on some Hungarian Horntail eggs. All of 'em burst except for that one. The guy tried to sell this one. Advertised it like an owl, but no one wanted 'em…"

Bakura studied the creature closely. Surprisingly, it was not struggling and hissing anymore. In fact it had wrapped its tail around his wrist and was now licking his fingers with its long tongue.

/Hehehehe, looks like it likes you, Host./ the spirit chuckled.

"Is he for sale?" Bakura asked.

The storekeeper frowned. "Since it'll never be a full fledged dragon it aen't illegal to sell em….but are you sure? Dragons don't make the best pets no matter the size."

"Seems to like me." Bakura pointed out. It was true too. The pygmy dragon just kept on licking his fingers like a puppy.

"Well…if you're positive. I don't give refunds though." The storekeeper warned.

"It will be fine. How much?"

As Bakura and the storekeeper haggled over the price of the mini-dragon, Yugi and Marik set out to find their own pets.

Marik's eyes fell on a small kitten. It was colored very similar to a Siamese, but it was clearly not a full blooded Siamese. It was staring at him with haughty blue eyes, as if it was certain that it was the queen of the world.

"I don't believe it" Tristan said as he peered over Marik's shoulder "You want a cat?"

"They happen to be sacred animals, you fool." Marik replied as he picked up the cat.

"Huh…you just never struck me as a cat person." Tristan shrugged.

Yugi, meanwhile, was inspecting a cage full of ferrets. The creatures were happily tussling in the cage, looking like they were having fun.

/You want a weasel?/ Yami asked, curious.

/These are ferrets, not weasels. And I think I do./ Yugi replied mentally.

/They do look interesting…/Yami said.

Yugi grinned and selected a pure white ferret with pink eyes.

A few minutes later they emerged from the store. Yugi and Marik both had carriers for their pets. Bakura's dragon, on the other hand, refused to be so confined and had curled himself around his new owner's neck.

"How am I going to walk down the street with this?" Bakura wondered.

"Say it's a robot." Marik said.

/Don't get to comfortable when we get to the hotel, Host./ the spirit said.

/Why?/

/You have a wand, a dragon, and bunch of books. I have left you alone all day. I deserve something as well…I want my Claws, Host. I will get them back!/

/Oh…wonderful…/

* * *

A/N: The cat is mine, I always wanted a ferret and as for the dragon…well I have a bit of a dragon obsession. I just had to put one in. 


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The Claws and the Spy

* * *

The idea of claming that the mini-dragon was a robot was a kind of a double-edged sword. It did indeed keep the passerby from thinking that anything odd was going on.

Unfortunately, after the fiftieth time Bakura had to say "It is a robot", the dragon got it into his head that his NAME was Robot. And now it would not respond to any other name.

"Who ever heard of a dragon named Robot?" Bakura groaned. Said dragon just licked the back of his neck in an affectionate manner. They had been separated into hotel rooms…that is to say the males had all been dumped into one room while Tea and Ishizu, being the only two females, got a room to themselves….

The male room was, to say the least, a bit crowded. Thankfully the room was reasonably large…

However, pure chaos ruled the moment Marik and Yugi let loose their pets.

Ferrets are extremely active and extremely jumpy animals. And by "jumpy" I do not mean frightened. I mean Little-Ten-Year-Old-On-Sugar-High jumpy. Kittens, no matter how much dignity they try to muster in a cage, are still, when you get down to it: kittens. Add one dragon the size of an owl and…

Needless to say the combination was…interesting.

It did not help matters when, ten minutes later, Joey and Tristan decided they had a pressing appointment elsewhere (the scheduling of this appointment might have had something to do with the fact that Yugi's ferret thought it was fun to jump on people's heads and nibble hair). Odeon was not helping at all. Period. He just sat in a corner of the room with his arms folded, a slight smirk on his face.

Which of course left Yugi, Marik and Bakura to the task of making sure their pets did not tip over and break anything expensive as they (both humans and animals) ran around chasing each other's tails.

Finally, about nine o clock the animals had run out of gas. The ferret and the cat ended up curled up together on a cushion, and Robot had returned to Bakura's neck. Every gave a collective sigh and ordered some nice room service. They where all so exhausted from the day's activities that they all went to sleep…except for a certain thief.

/You still want to go after that thing in the bank?/

/Absolutely, and you can't stop me Host./ the spirit said.

Bakura sighed. While he did not like the idea that the spirit was going to go on a stealing spree, he did take comfort in the fact that it was unlikely that he could actually hurt anyone.

Therefore, Bakura did not make too big a fuss when the spirit took over his body once again. However, to both of their surprise Bakura did not fall into a trance as he usually did when this happened. While he could not control his body, Bakura could still see what was going on…

The spirit did not take time to examine this phenomenon. Instead he slipped out of the hotel and headed back to Diagon Alley.

* * *

/Hehehehe, security has really become pathetic in the last few thousand years!/ The spirit exclaimed.

/You call huge dragons pathetic?/ Bakura grumbled.

/Yes. Pathetic by Egyptian standards. This is just to easy./ the spirit's mad laughter echoed throughout Bakura's head (which is not a fun experience I'll have you know.)

Bakura had to give the spirit this though, he had managed to go deep into the depths of the wizarding bank undetected, and it looked like he would be able to get away with this heist. The spirit had been using all of his thieving skills, not to mention the Ring, to break into this place…and Bakura had to admit that he had made this look pretty easy.

/This must be the vault/ The spirit said as the Ring's needle stopped at a certain vault door.

/Yeah…but how do we get in? No doorknob./

/Simple. Brace yourself for the Shadow Realm, Host./

/Wonderful./ Bakura muttered at the spirit literally used the shadows to travel past the door, much like a ghost would have.

The inside of the vault had several piles of gold, silver and bronze wizard coins, which the spirit eagerly scooped up and stuffed his pockets with. Unfortuantlay there was no sign of the Claws.

/Guess they are not here./ Bakura said.

/Oh they are here Host./ the spirit said.

"Return to your master, Claws of the Thief King!" the spirit said, holding out his hand as if he expected his Claws to just leap in.

Surprisingly they did. From underneath a pile of gold coins they sprang like a pair of little bunnies and landed in their owner's grasp.

/Beautiful, aren't they?/ the spirit said. He was right too. The Claws were works of art. They looked like golden plated gloves. Inlaid in the backs of them where two glittering rubies. Hieroglyphics covered them, depicting a strange scene of slaughter. The pictures showed a village of people being herded to altars and brutally massacred. They were well done, so well done that it made Bakura shudder in horror at the scene.

/What…are the drawings about?/ Bakura whispered.

/It…was my home…before…/ There was grief in his voice, and emotion that Bakura had never heard from his "guest" before. /Never mind! I don't want to talk about it…let's just go./ The spirit slipped his Claws over his hands.

/But they don't really look like claws…/ Bakura started.

The spirit smirked and flexed his hands. Golden glowing light shot out of the tips of the Claws and formed…well…claws…

/Look well, Host. These things saved my life more than once in the past. It feels so good to have them back!/

Bakura shuddered again /How many people did you kill with these things?/ he asked, morbidly curious.

/With the Claws? No one. These things have never tasted the blood of humans./ the spirit said /I used the tips to climb walls and pick locks, but I never turned them against another human. I would always sheath them when I got into a fight…/

/But…I've seen you…you like hurting people!/ Bakura was puzzled.

/…you really think that don't you…/ the spirit whispered.

/Of course I do…the way you act!/

/I was not always as I am now, little idiot!/ the spirit growled. /I used to have…to have…/

/Principals?/ Bakura volunteered. /What happened to those principals then?/

/I…/ the spirit paused and thought /I…don't know…/

Both of them where silent on the way back to Diagon Alley.

* * *

Once there the spirit insisted on wandering. He was muttering something about alibis.

/And we should probably buy something…or at least look at shops…/ the spirit mused.

"…The Dark Lord…"

"Not here fool, into Knockturn Alley."

/Eh? What was that?/ the spirit pricked their ears.

/Something about a Dark Lord?/

/Let's listen in, shall we?/ the spirit said.

Bakura was about to ask how they were going to do that when the spirit muttered something under his breath in Ancient Egyptian while rubbing one of the Claws in his pocket. Instantly the two of them faded and disappeared.

/Like I said, the best thieving tools./ the spirit said smugly.

They followed the two wizards who had been talking closely, the spirit making sure that they would not be caught. The two whispering wizards stopped in a ratty looking side alley that looked like its best customers were rats.

Knockturn Alley.

Bakura studied the men, committing their faces to memory, just in case. One of them was tall and lanky with greasy hair and an unpleasant expression. The other had watery eyes and reminded Bakura of a rodent.

"Your information has been poor at best, Snape." The rat-man said. "For someone whose as close to Dumbledore as you say, you certainly don't know that much."

"I know more than you, Wormtail." The other man snarled "Certainly more than little rat that follows the Dark Lord around licking his boots. At least I am actually doing something."

"You are supposed to be giving me information, not insulting me." The man called Wormtail squeaked.

"I am giving you information, if you would stop babbling long enough for me to give it." Snape said coolly. "This year there will be four transfer students to Hogwarts. All from Japan. All going into the fifth year."

A pause, then "That's it? That is all you have?"

"That is all that Dumbledore will tell me." Snape replied.

/He's lying./ the spirit thought.

/How can you tell?/

/I just can…/

After trading a few more insults the two men parted ways. Bakura and the spirit stayed where they were, still invisible.

/That was enlightening./ the spirit finally said.

/How?/

/First, this wizarding society is divided into factions. Judging from the secrecy I would bet that the faction that those two belong to is either illegal or secret from the others. Second, this Snape man works with the Headmaster of our new school in some way. Third, this Snape is either a spy or a double agent. Either way, we cannot trust him. And fourth…there is something going on here that we don't know about…and I hate secrets that are not mine…/

Bakura groaned. /Not Millennium Items again!/

/…I…doubt it./

/Really?/

/The world does not revolve around the items, Host. This may be something totally unrelated. Either way, I think we should be cautious from now on./

/Great. Wonderful, can we go to the hotel now?/

/Yes./ the spirit said.

They left, but they both felt the foreboding in the air.

Neither got much sleep that night.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

To Hogwarts

* * *

During the week leading up to September first, the group from Japan spent the time (in the case of Marik and Yugi) learning the English language and trying to catch up on four years worth of magic without actually doing magic…

Of course, there were other things to do in London…

* * *

For example:

"The London Dungeon…what's that?" Joey looked at the sign on the building with distrust.

"From what I read, it's a museum…a torture museum." Marik said with an odd glint in his eye.

"And we are going in there…why again?" Tristan asked.

"I don't care what you two do, but I want to see it!" Marik replied.

"I can understand you, Marik, but why are you here Bakura?" Joey turned to his friend.

"Evil spirit." Bakura muttered. The spirit was even more enthused than Marik.

"Ohhhhhhhhh." Joey and Tristan uttered at the same time.

About an hour or so later Joey emerged from the museum looking traumatized. Tristan looked thoughtful, Marik looked awed and Bakura intrigued.

"Okay, that was kinda cool." Tristan admitted.

"Are ya kidding! That was scary than that Blair Witch Project movie!" Joey shouted.

"So are ham sandwiches." Bakura said, though it was unclear if this was his thought or the spirit's thought.

* * *

And also…

/Where are all the game stores!/ Yami growled as Yugi walked down some street or another.

/Not sure…/ Yugi replied.

/Wait! Was is that robot thingy in the that window?/

/Robot? You aren't talking about Bakura's-/

/No! Not the dragon! That!/

There was indeed a robot looking thing in this window. Intrigued, Yugi went in a beheld a place that looked like a nerds dreamland. Self after self of fantasy models, games and figurines stacked to the ceiling.

Best yet, they had Duel Monster cards…

* * *

And…

"Ishizu, why are you studying the artwork in a Anglican church?"

"I don't speak English, so I'm deciphering."

"English artwork?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"It's fun."

Tea paused for a second. _Okay, she defiantly needs a hobby._

* * *

Finally, September first arrived. There was just one problem.

"Platform nine and three quarters right?" Joey looked around Kings Cross station. "I don't see anything…maybe you guys need to tap bricks with your wands again?"

"Maybe…UMP!" Yugi grunted as a big black dog collided with him.

"Snuffles!" A boy with black hair, green eyes and glasses ran up to the dog. He looked ready to panic.

"This your dog?" Yugi said, trying out his English for the first time….(he still had a bit of an accent).

"Ummm, yeah! He's mine."

Yugi smiled "He cute." He said and patted the dog.

Said dog (Sirius Black in case any of you were confused) made a point to wag his tail and lick Yugi's hand just like a regular dog would have. It worked…sort of.

/There is something weird about that mutt, Host/ Yami Bakura said.

/It's just a dog./ Bakura retorted.

/And I'm just a voice in your head./ the spirit teased.

"My name's Harry Potter," the black haired boy said "what's yours?"

"Yugi Muto," Yugi said and introduced the others to Harry.

"Where are you guys from, are you new to the school?" Harry asked.

"Yes, we from Japan-"

"We _are_." Tea corrected automatically.

"Sorry, we are from Japan…except Marik, Odeon and Ishizu over there, they are from Egypt."

"Really?" Harry said. "Are you having trouble finding the platform?" Harry remembered his first time with the platform, and could understand if the foreigners were confused.

With Harry's instructions the group manged to find the train. Harry sepreated from the group and went over to were the Weasley's and the rest of his bodyguards, trying desperately not to look to strange about it. It was fortunate for him that Yugi and his friends did not notice this at all, because standing right there in front of them staring at the train was…

"KAIBA!" Joey bellowed.

Kaiba turned. "Oh great," he muttered. "It's you. Don't tell me you are going to this…school are you mutt?"

"GRRR! MUTT! I'm gonna-!"

"Joey! Not here!" Bakura said.

"It's just me, Bakura, and Marik going to the school, Kaiba." Yugi said.

"Great, stuck in a school with two lunatics and my greatest enemy." Kaiba said.

Joey, who would argue with Kaiba about anything, shouted "Bakura and Marik aren't crazy! They were possessed and-"

"Oh don't be an idiot…never mind you already are." Kaiba said in a condescending tone "They both are schizophrenic loons. They don't have evil spirits, just multiple personalities."

Bakura shifted awkwardly.

Joey and Kaiba argued a bit over the mental conditions of their friends, a conversation held entirely in Japanese. People were starting to stare.

Finally, Kaiba had had enough. He slung his bag over his shoulder and marched away, muttering something about lunatics.

Bakura watched him go, a troubled look in his eyes. Joey noticed.

"Don't listen to that creep, Bakura, ya aren't crazy."

"How would you know…what if he's right and it is all in my head? What if I've just been using this Ring's magic without knowing it…"

"Yami's real!" Joey said "If Yami's real than that evil spirit is too! Besides, I've meet your evil spirit, and he is NOT you!"

Bakura was still troubled, though he took careful consideration not to show it.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye for now, guys." Yugi said. "I'll write you guys everyday, I promise!"

Yugi, Joey, Tea and Tristan stared at each other, each knowing that this would be the first time that the four of them would not be together for a long, long time. A few paces away, Marik, Isizu and Odeon were having a similar moment….

But there was no one there for Bakura…

/Host…/ Yami Bakura started, but stopped himself in time. He had felt Bakura's loneliness, and for a second he had wanted to comfort his host. But he stopped himself in time.

The fact that Bakura mentally growled at him to leave him alone helped a bit.

Bakura turned away to board the train, not surprised that he was the odd man out, but still feeling the pain of it. Before he got to far away, however, an arm landed across his shoulders.

"Hey, Bakura, ya aren't gonna say goodbye to me?" Joey asked. The other boy's sorrow had not gone unnoticed by Joey, and while he was scared stiff of the evil spirit, Joey's conscience would not let Bakura feel too bad.

Bakura, however, did not answer.

"Ya'll drop us a line occasionally too, right?"

"Sure." Bakura muttered, not meeting Joey's eyes.

"Don't let these wizard guys push ya around, either! Okay?"

"Okay." Bakura said.

"Right." Joey, who had run out of encouraging things to say, left Bakura alone.

Bakura sighed. No matter how nice Joey tried to act, he knew perfectly well that he would never be as…important as the inner circle of Yugi's friends. Half of it was the spirit's fault…but he had to admit that a part of it might be himself. He just…didn't make friends easily. Sure he made acquaintances, but never close friends. He had too many secrets and had told too many lies…

Bakura had no illusions that school would be any different. Sure he might make a few more acquaintances, but no close friends.

It was too dangerous.

Deep inside his heart, the evil spirit felt something unfamiliar prickling. He had never felt this way in a long time, and he did not like it. He had even forgotten its name for a second…then it came to him…

Guilt.

Bakura boarded the train, feeling alone and miserable. The spirit, too, felt miserable…but with him it was guilt and misery.

Neither of them cared to look back.

* * *

A/N: the London Dungeon is real and very interesting…if you like historical torture methods…actually it is kinda like a haunted house… 


	6. Chapter 6

An Author's note: I am not going to be directly quoting or following the fifth Harry Potter book, for several reasons:

It irritates the blue blazes out of me when people directly quote a book in their fanfics for five pages, it is just plain lazy.

I don't remember ever exact detail in the book, and I'm not going to spend half an hour worrying about it.

Besides, if you want to know what happened in the fifth book, buy it and read it. Now, major events like Hagrid not being there for half the year, the DA and Harry's strange dreams will be in here, but I'm not going to worry about things like the exact order of classes they have a day…

* * *

Chapter 6

Two to the Lion, Two to the Snake

Bakura was so distracted by his thoughts that he did not notice the blond, smirking boy until he had crashed into him and knocked him over.

Bakura turned to say his was sorry when he was grabbed from behind and shoved up against the side of the train. He turned his head and gazed a pair of large, moronic looking individuals.

"No one hits Draco Malfoy and gets away with it," the blond bully growled. He took out his wand, preparing to cast a really nasty curse, but before he could complete a downward sweep another hand grabbed his wrist and jerked him around.

"Leave the crazy man alone." Seto Kaiba growled at Malfoy.

"Unhand me or my father-" Malfoy's usual rant was cut short by Kaiba's derisive laugh.

"Your father? What's the matter, kid? Can't fight your own battles?" Kaiba kept laughing and laughing, and Malfoy just could not get another word in edgewise. Finally, Malfoy snorted and stormed out of the compartment, growling and plotting revenge.

As soon as he was out of earshot Kaiba's laughter abruptly stopped. He glared over at Bakura.

"Look, nut, I don't care about your social life, but you happen to be a Battle City finalist. How that happened I will never know, but it did. You look bad, then the rest of us look bad…and I don't like looking bad. Do your fellow duelists a favor and grow a spinal column. I won't be there to baby-sit you again." With that Kaiba turned and stalked off.

/…okay, that was humiliating, not only did you nearly get hexed, but you had to be saved by Richy Rich over there./ the spirit growled.

/…./

/sigh, look…I don't want to have to be 'saved' but that arrogant mortal ever again…don't you know anything about fighting, Host?/

/…no…/

/Hmmp, didn't think so…alright, then I suppose I'll just have to teach you./

/….what?/

/You heard me, I'm going to teach you how to fight. Not duel, fight./

/…oh joy…oh bliss…/ Bakura had a bad, grungy feeling in his stomach.

Not wanting to talk about this any more, Bakura set out to find the emptiest looking compartment he could. The best he could do was one with a rather strange looking girl reading a magazine upside down.

A few moments later Yugi and Marik appeared.

"Ah! Bakura! There you are!" Yugi said. "Why'd you disappear like that?"

"I don't like long goodbyes." Bakura said.

The girl reading the magazine upside down briefly glanced up at them and then kept reading.

Yugi sat beside Bakura and Marik sat across from them. Even though the young Egyptian was not sure how the other two felt about him at least they shared something in common: Duel Monsters.

"So…um…" Marik started nervously, after all the last time he had played Bakura he had ended up in the Shadow Realm and as for Yugi…well he was not going to think about that…"either of you want to duel?"

"Sure" Yugi grinned, eager for a friendly game. "No duel disks on the train, though."

"Agreed. You want to duel either of us after this game, Bakura?" Marik asked.

"Can't…no deck, remember?"

Marik gulped, he had forgotten that little detail.

Bakura smiled. There was no way he was going to let the general populance know just how much not having a deck anymore hurt him. "I don't mind watching though. I rather enjoy it." Not a lie…

"Please, no God Cards Yugi, okay?" Marik whispered.

Yugi agreed, and soon the two of them were dueling.

About the time Yugi was down 500 points, Marik 700 and Yugi had a Dark Magician Girl on the field and Marik had one of his regenerating slime monsters, a voice broke though the duel induced haze that people like Yugi and Marik sometimes succumb to in the middle of a fight.

"What are they doing?"

Marik and Yugi briefly looked up to see the boy they had meet a few minuets ago, Harry Potter, along with a young redheaded girl and nervous looking boy with a toad.

"Dueling." Marik and Yugi said at the same time, and then they turned back to the cards.

"I place Big Shield Gardna in defense mode and…" Yugi said, going back into the duel haze.

Bakura, who really had nothing better to do at the moment, turned to the three newcomers and said "It's a card game called Duel Monsters." He then proceeded to explain the basics of dueling to the wizards.

"Your name was Ryo, right?" Harry asked, sitting down in another seat.

Bakura shook his head. "Please don't call me Ryo, nobody calls me Ryo. Just call me Bakrua."

"But…I thought that was your surname?" Harry was confused.

"I just prefer Bakura." _No to mention the fact that you just pronounced my name as 'Roo'_…

"Okay," Harry shrugged "These are my friends, Ginny Weasley and Neville Longbottom.

"Nice to meet you." Bakura said politely.

"Don't believe everything you've read about Harry, it's all a bunch of lies." Ginny said.

"Umm, I'm sorry, but I have never read a thing about Harry, should I have?" Bakura was confused.

"Oh…you must be muggle born?" Ginny said "Only someone muggle born wouldn't know about Harry Potter."

"Muggle?"

"Someone without magic." Harry explained.

"Oh…well I suppose that definition would extend to all of us…" Bakura said.

Harry and Ginny proceeded to tell Bakura about various details of wizarding life. But they were careful not to mention Voldemort or Cedric Diggory's death last year. They didn't want to spook him.

After a few moments two more people came in, and Harry introduced them as Ron and Hermione. When Hermione saw Yugi her eyes widened.

"I've seen you before…aren't you that card game boy?" she asked.

Marik tore his eyes from his cards and gave Hermione a long hard stare "'Card game boy'? That's the King of Games you are talking to!"

"Marik? I just wiped out your life points with Dark Magician." Yugi said.

"Oh great. Even Godless you still got me." Marik groaned.

After that they put up the cards and started talking with Harry and his group. The rest of the trip was pretty routine…

Well, except maybe for one point.

Bakura was not sure how the conversation started, but Hermione and the girl reading the magazine upside down (Luna Lovegood) got into a kind of argument about a Crumpled horned something or other. Apparently Hermione did not believe it was real, and this irritated Luna.

Bakura, who was very irritated with people calling other people crazy, leaned over to Hermione and said "You know, before I got that letter I thought that magic and wizards was just nonsense, and now I'm on a train to a magic school." He said.

Hermione really did not have any retort for that.

Luna, on the other hand, looked at Bakura, actually looked at him instead of just staring vaguely. _Hmmm_ she thought _you know he's kinda cute…_

_You know…_Bakura just started a thought, but was interrupted by a rude spirit.

/Don't even think about it, Host./

Desperate to change the subject, Hermione pointed at Robot, who had found a Chocolate Frog and was gleefully chasing it. "Is that your pet?"

"Oh, yes, he's mine." Bakura said. "He's name's Robot."

"Robot?"

"Yeah…really funny story…"

* * *

Finally, they arrived at the school. Yugi, Bakura and Marik were unsure of where to go, but then they heard some lady calling "First years and transfers! To the lake!"

"Hope to see you after the Sorting!" Hermione called as she headed for the carriages.

"Sorting?" Yugi said with a nervous look.

"We'll find out when we get there." Marik said.

They piled onto a boat, and were soon joined by none other then Kaiba. Kaiba and Yugi shot each other a look, but neither of them made a fuss.

Bakura barely registered the trip across the lake. He barely noticed the sight of the castle on the horizon. He was thinking, and thinking hard. He was afraid that this Sorting might be some sort of test, and he had no clue on how his spirit would react to it.

He was still lost in thought as they were herded into the castle and to the Great Hall. While Marik and Yugi marveled at the ceiling, Bakura fidgeted.

He breathed a mental sigh of relief when he saw that all he had to do was wear a hat. Surely the spirit could not cause trouble…would it?

After the official first years had been sorted, Dumbledore stood up and addressed the crowd of students.

"This year," he began "We have the honor of welcoming three transfer students from Japan and Egypt. I know that all of you will make them feel welcome in our school. Now, let them be Sorted!"

Professor McGonagall pulled out a different scroll from somewhere (we do not want to know from where) and bellowed. "Bakura, Ryo."

_Curse alphabetical order!_ Bakura thought as he stumbled towards the hat. Gulping he slipped the thing on his head and waited…for what he was not sure.

"Interesting." The hat said "Two souls in one body…how to do this I wonder?"

/Just sort the Host, I don't care about this House garbage!/ the spirit growled.

"If you insist. Let's see here. Loyalty, kindness…almost a guaranteed Hufflepuff…but there is something here that would not work in that House at all…you where willing to sacrifice your life and soul for your friends not once, but twice! Such courage belongs in-GRYFFINDOR!" the Hat bellowed that last word for the entire room to hear.

Relieved that was over, Bakura practically scuttled to the Gryffindor table. He hoped he would not have to do anything like that ever again.

"Ishtar, Marik." McGonagall shouted.

Marik walked calmly over to the hat. Before it even got halfway on the hat shouted out "SLYTHERIN!"

Marik removed the hat and walked over to the Slytherin table, his face expressionless.

Over at the Gryffindor table, Harry got a funny feeling in his scar. It was not the usual pain, more like an itching. _From the east four shall come…_he remembered…_could it be?_

"Kaiba, Seto."

Kaiba rolled his eye and put the hat on, but did not sit. He folded his arms as if waiting for the Candid Camera crew.

"SLYTHERIN!" the hat determined.

Kaiba grunted something about good tech and walked over to his new House. Malfoy looked livid.

"Muto, Yugi."

Yugi took a deep breath and put the hat on. A few moments passed…then:

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Yugi grinned. At least he would be in a House with a friend! He hopped over to the Gryffindor table and sat down next to Bakura, eager to see what would happen next.

Harry was in shock. _Two to the Lion, two to the Snake…just like in my dream…what is going on here?_


	7. Chapter 7

An Author's Note: Have I mentioned I don't own Yugioh or Harry Potter? I don't, by the way…and I don't own Star Wars either…

* * *

Chapter 7

The Feast

Now that the Sorting was finally over, it was time for one of the best parts of the evening, the feast. As soon as Dumbledore said "Tuck in" food magically appeared on the tables.

/I wonder how Kaiba is going to explain away this…what is that?/ Yami said as Yugi poked at a pot pie.

/I'm not sure…wonder if it has kidney in it…/

/Kidney! British people eat kidney!?/

/I think so…/ "Hey, Harry, which one of these pie things is kidney?" Yugi asked Harry, who was sitting across from him and Bakura.

"Here's the kidney pie, if you want it." Harry made to pass the pie, but Yugi held up his hands and shook his head.

"No! I was just trying to avoid it!" Yugi said. "I really don't want kidneys…"

"Oh…okay…" Harry paused. "But…don't Japanese people eat raw fish?"

"It's not the same thing…"

There was a long awkward pause over this moment of cultural clash.

Over at the Slytherin table, Marik had managed to strike up a conversation with several people (Malfoy defiantly not included), and was making fast friends. The young Egyptian had realized that, in order to survive in such a bigoted minded House it was best to make as many allies as he possibly could. He had already heard of this wizard sport called Quidditch and had pegged it as a way to earn popularity points. Marik knew that it was dangerous to try and manipulate his housemate's minds, so he would have to use conventional methods to gain allies. He knew that he could do it…

Meanwhile, Seto Kaiba had pulled out his famous laptop and prepared to fire it up…unfortunately for him it refused to fire.

"What…is…this?" Kaiba growled.

"Muggle things don't work at Hogwarts you stupid Mudblood." Malfoy sneered.

Kaiba growled, stood up and strode towards the table where the teachers were sitting. McGonagall gave him a withering glare, but he ignored her.

"What's this about my laptop not working in this dump?" Kaiba bellowed at Dumbledore, who did not seem to mind this outburst.

"I'm afraid technology can't work on Hogwarts grounds." He said.

"Look Gandolf, I have a multimillion dollar company to run! If I can't access the Internet I can't give orders. If I can't give orders very bad things happen. So, there had better be a way for me to use my computer, because if there is not, I am going back to Japan right now!"

McGonagall was about to tell him to ahead and go back to Japan, but Dumbledore calmly said "I am sure we can come to some arraignment, Mr. Kaiba. Please be patient with us until then."

"Fine. You just hope my stocks don't go down until then." Kaiba growled and stormed back to his seat.

"Cheerful fellow, isn't he?" Ron muttered as they watched Kaiba stalk around.

"Oh, that's just Kaiba being Kaiba. He's actually alright once you get to know him." Yugi said.

"No he's not." Bakura muttered.

Finally, the feast was over. Dumbledore stood up to say a few words, but before he got properly started, a fat, froglike woman interrupted him.

/hahahaha! Look Host! It's Jabba the Hutt!/ the spirit said. Bakura tried not to laugh.

Jabba the Hutt…okay, Professor Umbridge started on a boring little spiel about the dangers of advancing to far…or something like that. Most of the students had managed to lapse into a coma by her fifth word. Only Hermione, Kaiba and the spirit of the Ring paid any attention. And none of them liked what they heard.

/So…interesting…/ the spirit said.

/Huh?/ Poor Bakura's brain had almost shut down from her droning.

/This "Ministry of Magic" is trying to take over the operation of this school…very interesting…./ the spirit replied. /Ask your new "friend's" about this ministry./

/…why should I?/ Bakura said.

Long pause…then /ummm…please?/

/Okay./ Bakura said.

_Hmmm, that was less painful than I thought it would be._ The spirit thought.

"Hey, Harry, what's the Ministry of Magic?" Bakura whispered.

"Huh?...oh. They basically make the laws here…and they're…well they're kinda a bunch of idiots."

"Why?" Yugi asked.

"Ummm, never mind." Harry did not want to talk about Cedric Diggory, and he had a feeling that was where this conversation might lead to if not stopped now.

/Very interesting, Host./ the spirit said gleefully. /So far we have three different organizations here: these Hogwarts people, the Ministry, and that mysterious organization we stumbled upon in that alley. And it turns out there are spies here from both organizations/

/Huh?/

/Look closely at the teacher's table, who do you see there?/

Bakura looked and saw the hook nosed man they had seen talking to Wormtail in the alley.

/Is he a teacher here?/ Bakura asked.

/Ask the wizards./ the spirit demanded.

"Who is that teacher up there?" Bakura whispered to Harry "The one that looks like he is ready to kill Jabba up there."

Harry looked at Bakura "Jabba?" he asked.\

"Jabba the Hutt. You know, from Star Wars?" Bakura said. Harry shook his head.

"Never seen it, but the man you are looking at is Snape. He's the potions master here. He also hates Gryffindors, so watch out."

/Very very interesting./ the spirit muttered.

Finally, Jabba…oops, Umbridge, finally stopped talking and let Dumbledore have the floor back. After some final words from Dumbledore the prefects, including Hermione and Ron, started leading the first years up to the dorms.

* * *

As it turned out Yugi and Bakura had a room just across from the one with Harry, Ron, Seamus and Dean…so they got to hear the argument that ensued over whether or not Harry was crazy.

"Wonder what or who this Dark Lord they keep talking about is?" Yugi wondered. "Think it has something to do with the Millennium items, Bakura?"

"I'm not sure…but the evil spirit doesn't." Bakura answered. "In any case, I am going to bed. Classes start tomorrow. Goodnight Yugi."

"Goodnight Bakura."

Yugi yawned and got into bed, thoughts of tomorrow filling his head. Tomorrow, the start of classes…September second…September second?

Yugi shot up. /YAMI! Tomorrow is September second!/

/Yes…and?/

/It's Bakura's birthday tomorrow…isn't it?/

/…you're right, partner…we forgot it…/

/Great, perfect! What kind of friends ARE we, Yami?/

Yugi, no longer able to sleep, got out of bed and walked into the Gryffindor common room. He paced around, agitated.

"Hey, you're that Japanese kid Ron was telling us about…Yugi right?"

Yugi turned and stared at a pair of red headed twins.

"Yes." He said in Japanese, but then remembered where he was "Yes." He repeated.

"What's the matter? You have jetlag?" one of the Weasley twins asked (it was Fred, but Yugi didn't know that).

"Well…actually…"Yugi found himself telling the two Weasleys about it being Bakura's birthday tomorrow…

The twins got a bit of a scary glint in their eyes.

"We could give you a hand if you want. We could find you a cake, and maybe help with some presents…but it will cost you." George said.

"Cost me what?" Yugi asked.

/Careful, partner…/ Yami warned.

"Tell me, my spiky haired friend, have you ever considered becoming a test subject?" George said with a slightly evil smirk.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the Slytherin common room, pecking order was being established.

"You two had better learn the rules here!" Malfoy bellowed at Kaiba and Marik. "My father is-"

"Oh boy, here we go." Kaiba muttered "Do I have to break your mouth in order to get you to shut up?"

"I could get you thrown out of this castle in a day and-"

"If there is one thing I HATE more then friendship speeches it is cowards who don't fight their own battles!" Kaiba bellowed right back. "You want to have a feud with me? FINE! But if you are going to just cower behind daddy like a little mouse, then I don't see the point. DON'T WASTE MY TIME!" With that Kaiba began to march past Malfoy.

"CRABB, GOYLE, GET HIM!" Malfoy shouted.

A few moments later Malfoy's body guards where thrown against a wall with black eyes all around several lumps.

"So you can't fight your own battles." Kaiba growled "Pathetic."

Marik grinned. It was going to be an interesting school year…

* * *

A/N: I've read in several other fanfics that Bakura's birthday is September second…if I am wrong…well…hey, it's a plot point…and will be important…you'll see. 


	8. Chapter 8

An Author's Note: Does any know if Yami Bakura has a real name? You know, like the Pharaoh's real name was Atem? Just wondering…

The Reviewer Count for this fic is at 10.

More OCs coming up in this chapter…

* * *

Chapter 8

First Classes and Presents

Midnight, the time Fred and George said was perfect for sneaking out of the dorm, found Yugi and the two Weasleys out in the owl tower borrowing a school owl.

"You sure this thing can get to Japan and back by tomorrow evening?" Yugi asked.

"Should, they are pretty reliable." Fred said. "What are you getting him?"

"Duel monster cards. My grandpa owns a game shop." Yugi said.

"What's a duel monster?" George asked.

Yugi released the owl he was holding into the air. He had attached a letter to his grandpa asking him to pack as many booster packs as he could onto the owl. He just hoped it got there in time.

Yugi turned around and pulled out his deck to show Fred and George. "These are Duel monsters." He said "This is my Dark Magician, and that's Beta the Magnet Warrior, and…"

The twins stared at the cards in astonishment.

"They don't move?" Fred asked, poking the Dark Magician to see if it would twitch, it did not.

"No…well actually if you use a duel disk they kinda can…but since technology does not work here…" Yugi shrugged.

"Wait! Muggle science can make pictures move like normal?" George asked.

"No, it would be a hologram." Yugi said.

"Holo what?"

Yugi sighed "Can we just head back now? This place gives me the creeps."

"Yeah, okay. But tomorrow you get to do some…testing for us." George grinned.

Yugi gulped.

* * *

The next morning Marik stared at himself in a mirror and grinned.

"You look like a Rare Hunter again." Kaiba growled "Must you still wear all that jewelry?"

"Yep." Marik grinned as his new kitten leaped onto his shoulder and started rubbing on his hood with her face. Marik scratched her ears. "Morning, Bandit."

"Wait…you named that fuzzball Bandit?" Kaiba asked.

"Yeah, it's English for thief, right?"

"But…that's a female, isn't it?"

"So?"

Kaiba sighed. Whoever had taught this Egyptian English had not done a very good job…

* * *

Yugi went down to breakfast feeling tired and frankly ridiculous. The tired part came from the fact that he had not gone to sleep till one o clock that night. The ridiculous came from the fact that he was wearing robes instead of what he usually wore.

Oh well, at least he did not look silly alone. Everyone was wearing a robe. Even Kaiba…granted it was white…and he wore it like he had worn his old jacket from Battle City…to be honest he looked almost exactly as he had during the tournament except for the fact that the jacket had been replaced with a robe. He also had a challenging look in his eyes, as if daring anyone to comment.

No one did, it would not have been healthy.

As Yugi munched his bacon, he could get used to this part of English food, a storm of owls literally swooped down upon them. Yugi's heart gave a lurch as he spotted the one that he had sent to Japan last night struggling with a large package.

Before anyone could say anything Yugi snatched the package and ran it back to his dorm, determined to hide it.

As he was racing back Yugi nearly ran into Dumbledore, who was talking to Kaiba.

"All you have to do is take the Thestral we provide you to a location at least ten miles from the school. I would choose Defense against the Dark Arts. Your house has a free period at the same time the Gryffindors go, so you can attend the class then. Is that satisfactory?"

"It'll have to be." Kaiba grumbled. He then stomped off.

/He really is moody in the morning, isn't he?/ Yami commented /Moodier than usual I mean?/

/Yep./ Yugi agreed.

They returned to the Great Hall, hoping to get a few more strips of bacon down before the first class began.

"Were where you?" Ron asked as Yugi slide back into his seat "What was in that package?"

Yugi glanced around. Not seeing Bakura anywhere, he leaned towards Ron and whispered. "It's Bakura's birthday today. That was his present."

"Really? Cool. You got a cake too?"

"Actually, your brother's where going to help me with that…"

"Oh God…" Ron muttered.

"Yugi, the Rare Hunters are back." Someone snarled at Yugi from behind. Needless to say, Yugi jumped a mile.

"WHAT!" Yami took over and whirled Yugi's body around.

Yami Bakura stared back at them, chuckling slightly. He smirked and pointed at Marik…who as stated before looked like he was leading the Rare Hunters again.

Yami glared at the spirit "That wasn't funny."

"Don't worry, I'll do better next time." The spirit growled.

"What's wrong with your voice, Bakura?" Hermione asked, noticed the odd growl in the boy's tone.

"Dry throat." Yami Bakura growled. He grabbed some water and stared drinking. As he was doing this he relinquished control back to Bakura. "That's better." He said.

As soon as he saw the much nicer personality back in control, Yami backed down as well.

"Mr. Muto, Mr. Bakura." Professor McGonagall walked up to the two transfers. "Here are you schedules. We had to stick you in whatever electives we could find." She handed each of them a paper.

"Well, this is lucky." Yugi said "I got Ancient Runes and Care of Magical Creatures. Think I'll find a Duel Monster, Bakura?"

"Doubt it." Bakura said "What in the world is Divination anyway?"

Harry, Ron and Hermione groaned.

"That bad?" Bakura asked.

"Yeah. That teacher has no clue." Hermione grumbled "Most useless class in the school. Ancient Runes is interesting though, Yugi."

Over at the Slytherin table, Marik and Kaiba where also looking over their schedules.

_Defense against the Dark Arts first…so I'll just use that thest-whatever-it-was first thing this morning…hmmm, wonder what in the world Arithmancy is supposed to be…Just hope they don't try to pass off altered Duel Monster holograms as "Magical Creatures."_

_Hmmm…Muggle Studies…but I am a muggle sort of…hey! I get a class I can sleep through!"_ Marik thought. _Wonder if Magical Creatures means Duel Monster?_

"Better get going, History of Magic is first." Harry groaned.

/I wonder if we will learn anything about you, Yami?/ Yugi said. /Maybe…/

/I wouldn't hold my breath, partner./ Yami replied.

/History of Magic…this might be interesting…/ the evil spirit thought to Bakura.

* * *

About ten minutes later…

/DEAR SWEET MOTHER OF RA GET ME OUT OF HERE!!!!/ the spirit screamed in Bakura's head…funny part was Bakura agreed with him this time.

/I'm dieing Yami!/ Yugi groaned. /I'm dieing of boredom!/

/So am I…/ Yami agreed.

* * *

Meanwhile, in DADA…

_Okay, I've just read the same sentence thirteen times…this is just plain dull…_Due to the fact that Umbridge refused to actually teach her class, Marik found himself extremely bored…

_Time to amuse myself…_ Marik looked up at Malfoy, who was sitting in front of him and grinned.

Marik elbowed the boy beside him; a strangely quiet Slytherin named Jeremy, and said. "Wanna see a Muggle trick?"

"What trick?" Jeremy asked.

Marik grinned and ripped of a small piece of his book. He placed the paper in his mouth and got it good and wet. He produced a straw from somewhere in his robes and loaded it with the spitball. He took aim at Malfoy's head and fired.

Due to the greasy nature of Malfoy's hair he did not feel the spitball. Grin growing wider Marik made more little spitballs and made a little smiley face on Malfoy's head…

Jeremy could not take it anymore. He nearly fell out of his chair laughing.

"What is going on here?" Umbridge asked.

Marik, who was on a roll now, did the most idiotic thing he could do in this situation. He fired a spitball at Umbridge.

It was a good shot. It landed on her nose…

Needless to say, Marik got detention…but he was not bored anymore…

* * *

Ten miles away in a field Kaiba was arguing with a few stupid employees who did not seem to know what the term "supply and demand" meant. It took him all period to straiten the situation out. Buy the time it was done he had to rush to his next class

Potions…

* * *

A/N: What horror await them in the Dungeons of Snape? Stay tuned readers… 


	9. Chapter 9

An Author's Note: Now, I know that ya'll kinda wanted to see a Kaiba vs Snape moment…but right in the middle of this I realized that would be completely out of Snape's character. Remember that Snape favors Slytherin, and Kaiba is a Slytherin. He will be able to get away with things Harry and the others would not be able to.

But don't worry, their will be the promised attitude clash…it'll just be someone else's attitude…

And thanks to FlyingShadow666 and MaliksTenshi13 for the name (turns out the spirit's name is Afekia…actually MaliksTenshi13 spelled it differently, but FlyingShadow666 suggested it first so…). Anyway, you'll see why I needed his real name in a minute…

Hehehehe.

* * *

Chapter 9

Dragon and Lion

Finally, after having a wonderfully mind numbing time in History of Magic and getting a truckload of homework, the Gryffindor students headed down into the depths of the Dungeons of Snape. Harry and the others tried to prepare their new friends for the horror that was Snape, but Bakura and Yugi where distracted. Yugi and Yami were having a mental discussion about the upcoming party, while Bakura was trying to convince his spirit that no, Professor Binns did NOT need a one way trip to the afterlife.

The Slytherin, except Kaiba, were already there and looking busy. Malfoy looked especially grouchy. At first, Harry had no clue what was going on…until he saw Marik in the middle of a large group…teaching them how to make spitballs…

"I don't know why any of you are LISTENING to that stupid foreign Mudblood." Malfoy snarled. A few of his stronger supporters, like the moronic Crabbe and Goyle, and that girl that usually hung with them (her name escapes the narrator at the moment), sneered right along with him. However, most of the other Slytherins, who had never encountered a spitball before, were fascinated.

About that time Snape opened the door of his dungeon and snarled the students in. As soon as the last person had scurried over the threshold Kaiba strode up. Not walked, STRODE. In fact he was practically swaggering.

"And why are you late?" Snape asked.

"Because everyone in my company is a complete moron except for maybe my little brother, and he is thirteen." Kaiba said "Do you have any idea what it is like trying to deal with complete idiots?"

Snape smirked, his eyes traveling to Harry "All the time." He said. "Make sure this does not happen again."

"What a biased git." Ron grumbled to Yugi "He'd never let one of us go that easily. Told you guys he favors his house!"

Snape started lecturing about the upcoming OWLs, which were apparently wizard exams. Yugi's heart did a nauseating little back flip when he realized that he would have to take important tests while being several years behind the rest of the class…

Somehow, Yugi ended up being paired with Hermione (lucky him), Kaiba with Harry (this pleased neither individual), Marik with Ron (don't ask) and Bakura ended up with, of all people, Neville Longbottom.

About ten minutes into the lesson several things came to light:

Yugi could not do Potions to save his life…however

Kaiba and Bakura could…for one reason and one reason alone.

"Look, can't you read the ingredients!" Kaiba grumped at Harry. "You're about to put the wrong thing in! Darn it, this is not hard! It's just like cooking…"

Harry stared at Kaiba "…what?"

"Cooking, you know food?" Kaiba said. "Don't you morons know how to use a stove?"

Harry, who had never had to actually cook in his life (the Dursleys would never have let him near the kitchen), just stood back and watched Kaiba work.

A few tables down a similar conversation was taking place.

"Okay…Neville was it?" Bakura said "You just slice the ingredients, I'll put them in…honestly, this is no worse than making supper…"

_I guess living alone has its advantages…_Yugi thought _Bakura must have had to cook his own meals, and that's why he's comfortable here…wonder how Kaiba knows it though?_

Yugi set his mind to learning this stuff. About ten more minutes later a strange sound echoed throughout the dungeon.

It was Bakura.

He was humming.

It must have gotten on Snape's nerves, because he stalked to the table where Bakura was (quite happily) stirring stuff to snarl at him.

"What are you doing?"

"Mixing." Bakura said. He looked pleased to be doing it as well.

For some reason this irked Snape.

"You are humming…in my class."

"I always hum when I cook…" Bakura said. "It's fun."

"Fun…" Snape's eyes narrowed. "You think this is fun? Listen boy, I am not teaching this class for you to have fun. This is a very serious potion and I won't let you ruin it by being stupid!"

Bakura's eyes snapped to Snape's…and something changed. Whether it was because Snape was rubbing the spirit the wrong way, or if it was just leftover stress from History of Magic we will not know, but in that instant Snape was not facing Ryo Bakura, but Yami Bakura.

Sensing the change from reasonably nice boy to evil maniac, Yugi, Marik and even Kaiba's heads swiveled to look almost in perfect unison.

/Oh no…/ Yami said /Yugi, let me-/

/Right./ Yugi relinquished control to Yami.

_This is bad…very bad._ Marik mentally moaned.

"Great, he's having a schizoid moment." Kaiba grumbled. Only Harry heard him.

"Mind your own business." Yami Bakura rasped. "As long as it gets done why do you care how I go about doing it?"

Snape glared at Yami Bakura, who glared right back. Had the evil spirit possessed all of his powers, Snape would have been munched by a Man-eater Bug in an instant. As it was they simply had a staring contest.

Snape would never had admitted it aloud to any student, but the strange young man in front of him was starting to scare him. He could sense a cold darkness in the boy, not the same darkness inside Voldemort, but something older and far more deadly. He would not break his stare with the strange creature in front of him.

The bell rang.

As the students scurried to get out of there, Snape made sure to shout out the current homework assignment, never breaking his gaze on Bakura, who sneered.

"Get out of my classroom." Snape snarled "And five points from Gryffindor for your attitude."

Yami Bakura smirked, and then left. He did not give his host control until he was out of the classroom.

/Are you insane!/ Bakura screeched. /That man looked like he was going to break our neck!/

/Relax, Host./ the spirit smiled. /If he had attacked…I would have taken care of it. Besides, I'm not going to let our friendly spy intimidate me!/

/Crazy Yami./ Bakura muttered.

"Tomb Robber!" Yami was standing at the top of the stairs. "You better not cause trouble for Bakura! I'll send you to the Shadow Realm myself!"

Yami Bakura took control and sneered at the Pharaoh "Don't tell me what to do! I don't take orders from you." He then retreated to his soul room to grumble.

"Sorry about that…" Bakura said, feeling distinctly nervous in front of the Pharaoh.

Yami backed off as well, letting Yugi take over "It's okay Bakura.

"I don't want him to hurt anyone…I just don't know how to stop him…" Bakura said.

Yugi did not know what to say.

* * *

Kaiba groaned as he joined the Gryffindors in DADA. He didn't relish another class with Yugi and the lunatic in it, but there was nothing he could do about it. Grumbling to himself he plopped down beside Neville, who he had judged as the person lest likely to bother him. The shyer boy took the hint and did not say a word to Kaiba.

Kaiba knew that this class might be…interesting the moment Harry started arguing with Umbridge about this so called Dark Lord. He found himself extremely irritated at this woman who insisted on treating the class as if they were two year olds.

Finally, when she had finished a tirade about a Ministry approved curriculum, Kaiba snorted.

"In other words you don't have a clue what you are doing." He snorted.

Umbridge turned from Harry to glare at Kaiba. "What was that?"

"Idiot, your just having us read a book all year? When are you actually going to teach us?"

"All you need to know is in this book! I just said that young man!"

"I've taken defense courses before, and there is only so far reading can take you with that. Eventually you have to teach us to DO something…unless you can't" Kaiba grinned. "I bet that's it. You have no clue about defense of anything, so you are just throwing books at us in the hopes that we will absorb something."

"How dare you! You have been listening to Potter's lies, haven't you?"

"I have no clue about this Dark Lord you keep yammering about. I wasn't talking about that, anyway, I was talking about your inability to TEACH!" Kaiba screamed. "Why should we even BE here, you useless bag of fat?! It's obvious your ministry is paranoid, so why bother?"

"How dare you! Both you and Mr. Potter have detention!" Umbridge bellowed.

Kaiba snorted, completely unimpressed.

Umbridge's eyes fell on Bakura, who looked…asleep. His head was pointed downwards and his eyes were closed. Irritated beyond belief, Umbridge approached her next victim.

Meanwhile in Bakura's mind, a certain spirit was giving Bakura a lesson in defense…actual physical defense. The two of them had figured out that they where not going to learn anything from Umbridge, and so the spirit had sucked Bakura to his soul room to give him a real lesson. He was teaching the young man how to throw a proper uppercut. As soon as Bakura had figured out that he was not going to actually be struck he started copying the spirit's moves in earnest.

That's when Umbridge literally hit him on the head. Suddenly jerked out of his soul room, Bakura leaped up in surprise, his fist lashing out seemingly of its own accord.

It connected with Umbridge's jaw….

Needless to say, there were now four people on Umbridge's hit list…all in for detention…

* * *

Yugi sighed as they gathered in the Great Hall for dinner, hoping that this meal, at least, would not be a total disaster.

"Hey, Yugi, come here." George said with a grin. "We got a job, remember?"

Oh boy.

"Yugi? What's going on?" Bakura asked, looking puzzled.

"Nothing, nothing!" Yugi replied as he raced off to follow the twins.

Bakura groaned and started back to the dorms. So far the day had been horrible…and he really wanted it to be over with…

What a birthday…

"What's going on?" Harry muttered. "Why's Yugi going off with your brothers, Ron?"

"Oh, it's Bakura's birthday." Ron said.

"What?" Marik had approached them from behind, overhearing the conversation "Why didn't anyone tell me or Kaiba that…well okay I can understand not telling Kaiba, never mind that. Where did Yugi go?"

"Ummm, that way?" Harry pointed in the general direction that Yugi and the twins had gone.

Marik rushed off.

"Weird bunch aren't they?" Ron muttered.

* * *

Marik had finally caught up with Yugi, Fred and George, who were standing in front of a certain painting tickling a pear…

"Okay, why did you not mention that it was Bakura's birthday to me?" Marik asked Yugi, who jumped a mile when the Egyption appeared behind him.

"Ummm, I didn't think you would care…"

"I care." Marik said.

"Why?" Yugi asked.

Marik sighed. "He's…the closest thing to a friend I have…okay the spirit is…but still…"

"What about Odeon?"

"My brother, not my friend…it's different."

"What about Yami?"

"My Pharaoh, not my friend…"

"Oh…" A long silence "We all are duelists here, Marik" he finally said. "I don't see why we can't be friends." Yugi grinned.

"What's the Slytherin doing here?" Fred asked with a suspicious look.

True to his friendship speeching ways, Yugi said "Marik's a friend of mine, and of Bakura's."

"But he's a Slytherin!" George said. "How can a Gryffindor be friends with a Slytherin?"

"A Gryffindor is not friends with a Slytherin, Yugi Muto is friends with Marik Ishtar." Yugi said stubbornly.

"Okay…if your sure." Fred muttered "Welcome to the kitchens!"

Yugi and Marik stared at the huge hall filled with busy little house elves. One of them rocketed towards the group.

"Greetings sirs! What can we do for you?" he asked.

Yugi stared at the small thing…why was it wearing so many socks?

"Who and what are you?" he asked.

The house elf bowed. "Dobby the free house elf, sir. Pleased to meet you!"

"We need a birthday cake, as soon as possible!" Fred said.

The house elves got busy. Within a few moments they had whipped up a nice looking white cake with blue frosting.

"Can you get it up to our dorm?" Yugi asked, still not sure about this.

"Of course, sir!" a house elf squeaked.

"Now…how are we going to get this Slytherin up to Gryffindor tower?" Fred asked.

"I believe I have these things attached to my ankles called 'feet'. Work very nicely." Marik said sarcastically. "I'll meet you at the entrance to your common room. Need to get a present." With that Marik rushed off.

"Well, this is going to be a first…" Fred muttered.

_

* * *

Let's see here, what do I have?_ Marik thought as he shuffled through his spare cards. He hated giving Bakura hand-me-downs, but there was no help for it…and besides that Bakura needed a new deck anyway… 

He paused…this card…it felt…warm…

_It is so not Bakura's style…_

It was a golden dragon, a Felgrand Dragon…but Bakura had never shown any interest in dragons at all…or light monsters for that matter...

_Still, it is powerful…and I won't use it…oh might as well give it to him…at the very least he can trade it for something he likes._

Marik slipped the dragon into his pocket, unaware that its eyes began to glow…

* * *

As it turned out Marik really did not have any trouble with striding though the Gryffindor common room on his way to see Bakura. Whispers and glares followed him, but he ignored it all.

"Wait for me, Marik!" Yugi raced after him, followed by a pair of house elves holding a cake.

"Sorry, folks, birthday party." George said to the common room in general.

"SURPRISE BAKURA!" Marik hollered as he stepped though the door.

"Huh?" was Bakura's brilliant response.

"Happy Birthday, Bakura!" Yugi said as he and the cake entered.

"…huh?"

* * *

Since it was just the three of them, the party was actually pretty small and quiet. That was okay, Bakura preferred quiet. They mainly spent their time eating the cake and discussing what had happened in class and the strangeness of these wizards.

Finally, around ten Marik decided he better get to his dorm before he was missed too much…

"Look, Bakura, I know dragon monsters aren't your thing, but…" Marik pulled out the card. "It is pretty powerful and rare…"

"Thank you." Bakura smiled and took the card.

As soon as he looked at it he felt the spirit inside him recoil, as if the tomb robber had touched a hot stove.

/It can't be…/ the spirit muttered.

/What's wrong?/

/Never mind!/

"See you tomorrow, Bakura." Marik said as he left.

"Here's my present. I got Grandpa to get a bunch of booster packs for you." Yugi said as he held up the package for Bakura.

"You didn't have to do that…" Bakura said.

"It's okay…I know what you must be feeling losing your cards…I hope you find some good ones." Yugi said with a smile.

"I'm…sure I will…but you know…the spirit…"

"Don't worry about the spirit! It's your deck…your heart Bakura. Just trust yourself." Yugi grinned and walked out the door, wanting to give Bakura some time to get acquainted with his new cards.

Bakura thought for a second, and brought out a small box. He opened it, revealing his favorite card, which had been spared due to the fact that the spirit did not include it in his deck, the Change of Heart.

But there was another card in that box….

He took out the two cards. The other was the one given to him by the Black Fox. Fro some reason it reminded him of an Egyptian God card…but that was not possible…

It depicted a large white lion with raven colored wings. The script declared it a White Lion card…but Bakura had never heard of the White Lion. Its attack and defense were a balance of 3,000. It had a very…interesting special effect though…

"Once per turn." Bakura muttered the effect aloud "Before you attack you can summon up to two monsters from your Graveyard to the field. This monster gets 1000 attack and defense points for each monster you have on your side of the field…that is…one great effect…"

/yes…/the spirit was still very quiet…Bakura would have thought that he would have been crowing in delight over such a powerful card…

Bakura shrugged and put the Change of Heart, the White Lion and the Felgrand Dragon in a small pile at his side…this would be the start of his new deck…

Ripping open a pack he stared at the cards. Puppet Master, Puppet King, Bait Doll, Psycho-Puppet…

Hmmm.

The next pack: Puppet Plant, Mysterious Puppeteer, Jowls of Dark Demise, …

The next pack: Malice Doll of Demise, The Puppet Magic of Dark Ruler, Puppet Ritual…

Bakura's eyes widened…what was going on here?

* * *

Deep in his soul room, the dark spirit was pacing around, nervous.

"That dragon…that lion…they look so much like…like…"

"_Afekia…Afekia…"_

The spirit stopped dead.

"Impossible! I haven't heard my name in centuries! Who dares-"

"_Ooooo, have you forgotten me, little brother? How could you!"_

The spirit turned and stared at a shadow that had not been there before…a shadow shaped like the Felgrand Dragon…

"G-Gorneel…?"

"_How have you been…little brother?"_

* * *

A/N: the White Lion is my own creation, far as I know it is not an acutal card...the Felgrand Dragon, on the other hand, is... 


	10. Chapter 10

An Author's note: Warning, mild swearing ahead (cause I think the spirit is the kind of guy who swears…).

As usual, no own…

* * *

Chapter 10

Voices and Suspicions

The spirit turned away from the image of the dragon in front of him, closing his eyes and growling. "You're not real, you are dead, go away."

_"I'm hurt, little one…"_

"GO AWAY!"

"…_for now…I will, but I'll be back to bother you again."_

The spirit shut his eyes, hoping that the creature would go away…when he opened his eyes and turned around there was no one there.

/Who were you talking to?/ Bakura asked the spirit.

/NO ONE!!!/

/…but I heard you talking-/

/NOTHING, RA DAMN IT!/ Long pause /…just a voice…/

/You are hearing…a voice…that I can't hear…oh dear…/

* * *

The next morning Bakura came to the breakfast table bleary eyed and grumpy looking. He had argued with the spirit all night long, and it showed.

"Bakura, are you okay?" Yugi asked

"No."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Is it…" Yugi leaned towards Bakura's ear and whispered "You-Know-Who?"

When Yugi asked "You-Know-Who" he meant the evil spirit. Unfortunately Hermione caught the phrase, and her mind started to whirl.

"No." Bakura grumbled.

"The what's-"

"LEAVE ME ALONE! THE VOICE IN MY HEAD IS HEARING A VOICE IN HIS HEAD!" Bakura had meant to shout in Japanese…but he ended up shouting in English.

A long silence came over the Gryffindor table, soon followed by copious amounts of giggling.

Bakura turned several shades of red, and then fled the dinning hall in pure humiliation.

"…what…" Ron gazed at Bakura's retreating form in shock. "He…hears voices?"

Yugi stuttered "Ummm, actually he was talking about…his brother! They got this weird mental link thing and sometimes they can hear each other's thoughts!" It sounded lame to Yugi's ears, but it was the best excuse he could come up with.

"Umm, excuse us for a few minutes." Hermione grabbed Ron and Harry and beat a hasty retreat.

Yugi groaned. Wonderful, now everyone thought that Bakura was nuts…

"Oi Spike! Time to pay up!" Fred and George literally assaulted Yugi and started dragging him away.

/I think I'll go into my soul room now…very deep in my soul room…/Yami muttered.

/What a great and wonderful help you are!/ Yugi shouted in his head.

* * *

"Okay, try this. Eat the purple end." George stuck what appeared to be a stick of candy in Yugi's face.

"What's its going to do to me?" Yugi asked suspiciously.

"You see, my spiky friend, we have a goal, a life's mission if you will." Fred said grandiosely "To deliver unto the public such items that, when used properly, can induce hilarity in any situation, no matter how tedious and monotonous it may be!" He was practically poising.

"….what?"

"Look, just eat the purple end." George said.

Yugi sighed and did as he was told.

The twins stared at him expectantly.

"How do you feel?" Fred asked.

"Nauseous." Yugi said.

"Hmmm, have to up the dose." George whipped out a quill and paper "Up dose on product ten…" he muttered to himself.

"…what?"

"That was a prototype of ours, a Skiving Snackbox. It's supposed to make you throw up so you can skip a class for a trip to the hospital wing…" Fred said.

"Is that why you need me? You want me to be a lab rat?!"

"Uh-huh." Fred nodded.

/Told you to be careful, didn't I?/

/Oh shut up./

* * *

Meanwhile, Bakura was busy pulling out his hair and groaning in the halls.

"Great, wonderful, 'the voice in my head is hearing a voice in his head.' Great job, Bakura!" he muttered to himself.

"Are you okay?" a slightly vague voice asked him from behind.

Bakura jumped and whirled around. It was that strange girl from the train, Luna Lovegood.

They stared at each other for a long time. "It's okay, you know…they think I'm crazy to…" she muttered.

Bakura did not know what to say. What were you supposed to say to statement like that?

"You're not okay, are you?" Luna was still staring at him.

Bakura sighed and turned away "It's bad enough that two teachers already hate me and one bores me to death, but now everyone in the Great Hall thinks I'm out of my mind!"

"I don't think you're out of your mind…you don't really act like it…except for that just now…" Luna said.

Bakura sighed.

"I bet it must be tough…starting late like this…" the vagueness was still there, but now there was also a bit of strange shyness about her voice "If you want…I could help you out…you know if you need to catch up…"

Bakura turned and stared at her. Her eyes were still incredibly vague, but there was also a bit of desperate loneliness there…

Bakura smiled warmly "I'd like that."

Luna smiled then cocked her head. "You better get to Herbology…"

Bakura eeped and dashed away.

* * *

"Monie, wha-" Ron said, or attempted to say. His mouth was full of breakfast.

"Did you hear what Yugi said!" Hermione asked as she dragged them out the door and under a tree.

"No, what?"

"He just asked Bakura if he was talking to Voldemort!" Hermione said.

Ron's jaw dropped, chewed remains of muffin falling from his mouth to the ground. "WHAT!"

Hermione repeated what she heard, or thought she heard.

Harry's eyes narrowed "You think Voldemort sent them here to spy on us?"

"But…they don't act like You-Know-Who's supporters…" Ron said.

"Neither did Quirrell or Crouch." Harry's eyes were narrowed and hard. "You don't expect spies to be obvious about it, or else they would not be spies…"

"I suppose…it is strange how two of them went to Slytherin and the other two to Gryffindor…" Ron said. "One House is full of You-Know-Who's supporters and the other has Harry Potter."

"They could have been sent to get you, Harry!" Hermione said. "I'll bet you anything that 'voice' Bakura was talking about is actually Voldemort…"

"Yeah, and remember how Marik just burst into our Common Room to attend that 'party.'" Ron was getting excited "I'll bet they were really reporting to their master!"

"And Bakura acted so strange with Snape yesterday!" Hermione agreed "He usually acts so nice and sweet, but he almost fought with Snape…"

"Yeah, and he punched Umbridge…" Ron agreed "Mind you she deserved it, but what kind of bloke punches out like that when he gets startled out of a sleep? Maybe…maybe was trained as an assassin!"

Harry was frowning "But…why hasn't my scar hurt when I'm around them…I mean, you would think if they where in contact with Voldemort I might have at least felt a prick…"

"Maybe they are being extra careful…" Hermione said.

"But then why would Bakura let it slip about a 'voice'…why would he act like that in front of Snape and Umbridge if he was trying to hide it…I mean, you would expect that a highly trained assassin would be able to keep up the act…"

"Maybe he's new at the killing business…" Ron said "Hey, maybe he just graduated from assassin school…"

"Maybe…or…" Harry paused "It's just…Kaiba said something really weird in Potions when Bakura started acting weird. He said 'Great, he's having a schizoid moment'. Maybe…"

"Schizoid…you think that Bakura's just barking?" Ron asked.

Harry shrugged "I don't know, but you know they are muggle born? Well, they probably don't know that You-Know-Who means Voldemort here in the wizarding world. They could have been talking about another You-Know-Who…"

"If Bakura really was…well schizophrenic…" Hermione thought "That could explain why Bakura always looks so…lonely…I mean it would have to be hard hearing voices that don't exist…and that voice could have been their You-Know-Who…"

"Or maybe Kaiba was just saying that to cover for him…" Ron said.

"Well, I don't want to go hurling accusations at them." Harry reasoned "If I am right, and Bakura is just a bit on the crazy side that would ruin any chance of friendship we may have with them, and frankly I kinda like Bakura and Yugi. I think we should just watch them. Be on our guard and don't do anything to make them think we suspect them."

"Good idea, and if they are spies and assassins, we shouldn't let them think that we are on to them." Hermione reasoned.

"I'll write to Sirius to, just in case…" Harry said.

Hermione's eyes widened "Oh no! We are going to be late for Herbology!"


	11. Chapter 11

An Author's Note: Brief reference to Little Shop of Horrors here. See if you can find it.

Don't own Yugioh, Harry Potter or Little Shop of Horrors.

* * *

Chapter 11

In Which Nothing Important Happens…Nope, Nothing…

The wizarding bank had only been broken into once before, and that time had involved Dark Wizards.

So it came as no surprise to Bill Weasley that the goblins had literally called every employee, goblin or otherwise, to attend a "meeting."

The items stolen where called The Claws of the Thief King, so named because they were once the property of a legendary Thief King. Supposedly only the Thief King himself could use them. Perhaps that was way the goblins were in such an uproar.

"So, they are gold…and covered in what did you say?" Bill asked the goblin he was talking to.

"Hieroglyphics." The goblin growled "They told of the destruction of Kul Elna."

"Kul Elna? I never heard of it…" Bill said.

"Not surprised, it's not on any temples that we've ever found. The little we know of the place came from the Claws themselves. Apparently the entire village was slaughtered in order to create seven items of great power, but the Claws did not say what those items were or what they were used for."

"Hmmm."

"We do know that the only person that could use them was the King himself, so either the person who stole them just wanted what was written on the Claws…or…"

"Or what."

The goblin grinned "Maybe the Thief King is back."

"But that was over a thousand years ago!"

"So? Some say the Dark Lord is back from the grave as well." The goblin kept grinning "Whose to say he's the only person who can come back from the dead?"

Bill frowned. He would have to tell Dumbledore about this and soon.

* * *

Harry noted Yugi and Bakura rushing to the greenhouse at top speed, Yugi looking a bit green around the edges. Harry, Ron and Hermione where also rushing, but from a different angle.

"Remember, not a word." He muttered to his friends. They nodded.

"What kind of plants are in here?" Yugi tried to peer into the greenhouse on tiptoe, but could not see a thing.

"Well, in our second year we got to pot plants that resembled screaming little brats." Ron said.

"Really?" Yugi's eyes where wide.

"Yep, Mandrakes." Harry said.

They entered the greenhouse and beheld some potted plants sitting on a table. The plants had large bulbs…with teeth.

"Today we are going to be studying the Man-eating Flytrap." Professor Sprout said. "We are going to be feeding them these rare steaks. Now make sure that you don't get bitten."

One of the plants turned its bulb towards Yugi and demanded "FEED ME!"

Yugi turned greener.

* * *

After a lesson that involved much jumping around and throwing of meat, the Gryffindors left the greenhouses feeling like they had just participated in a Care of Magical Creatures lesson.

"And next IS Care of Magical Creatures!" Ron groaned. "You guys think Hagrid might be back?"

"Who's Hagrid?" Yugi asked.

"He's the gameskeeper and the Care of Magical Creatures teacher." Hermione said. "He's a really nice guy, but he has an, an interesting taste pets."

"Let's just say he'd love to get his hands on Robot." Ron grinned.

Unfortunately Hagrid was not there. They had a substitute, a woman called Professor Grubbly-Plank. Yugi could tell that Harry was greatly peeved by this…especially when he heard Malfoy's comments about "the oaf."

Harry noticed a change in the Slytherin power structure. It seemed like more and more of them were gravitating towards Marik. Malfoy seemed to be quite livid about this.

The bowtrunkle lesson was going without a hitch…until Malfoy started ragging on Bakura.

"Hey, old man." Malfoy sneered at Bakura "How are the little people living in your brain?"

Bakura tensed. This comment came up just when the spirit appeared to be having an argument with the new voice.

This is what Bakura heard:

/NO! You are NOT going to use my Host's eyes to look at the girls…/

/NO, RA DAMN YOU!/

/…that's just not appropriate in this day and age…/

/Does the word 'pedophilia' mean anything to you?/

/NO, the fact that you are currently in the body of a boy in the same age group does not CHANGE ANYTHING!/

/No it does not! Stop being a pervert!/

/I don't care! We are studying the little stick man! Concentrate on the little stick man!/

/NOT LIKE THAT!/

Anyway, since all of that was going on in Bakura's head, while an annoying little blond dork was tormenting him about the voices that were tormenting him perhaps it came as no surprise that Bakura finally snapped. Since he could not hit the spirit he settled for the next best thing.

He hurled a rock at Malfoy.

"You're dead!" Malfoy bellowed "I can get you hauled off to St. Mungos for that, you crazy little white haired MUDBLOOD!" A malicious grin spread across Malfoy's face "I can get you thrown into a madhouse, where you belong!"

"What is going on here?" the professor demanded.

"This filthy little Mudblood scum just threw a rock at me!" Malfoy pointed at Bakura.

"Why did you throw a rock at him?" the professor asked.

Bakura stared at his feet. He could not tell her about the whole "voice" thing. That would land him in a nuthouse for sure. "I have nothing to say." He said sadly.

The lady frowned, she could tell something odd was going on, but she did not press. "Ten points from Gryffindor, and don't even think about throwing more rocks around, young man."

Malfoy was gloating, but his smirk faded when the professor said "And five points from Slytherin as well."

"What for!" Malfoy bellowed.

"You language." The professor said.

* * *

"What in the world is a 'Mudblood'?" Bakura asked as he and Yugi followed Harry, Ron and Hermione to the next class, Transfiguration.

"An insult." Ron growled "Stands for someone not born of a witch and a wizard. It's what gits like Malfoy like to call muggleborn." He snarled.

"Hmmm." Bakura grumbled to himself.

"Load of rubbish." Ron growled. "Look at Hermione, she could out hex anyone in the school and her parents are deentitistes."

"Dentists, Ron, dentists." Hermione groaned.

* * *

Bakura grinned as the toothpick he was trying to turn into a needle lengthened and turned sharp. It appeared he had a knack for wand work. This was only his third try and he managed to get it right.

Yugi was not quite so lucky. He had managed to make his toothpick resemble a tiny stake, but that was all.

"On the bright side, if we ever find a very, very tiny vampire…" Yugi said as he carried his mini stake out of class. Professor McGonagall was having him work on it out of class…he got to work on the toothpick while Bakura concentrated on turning a hedgehog into a pincushion.

Charms went equally well for Bakura. He managed to master the basic spells Professor Flitwick. Yugi was not far behind his friend…but he was still behind.

"How do you do it?" Yugi grumbled at his friend.

"Not sure, but I am having the time of my life!" Bakura said brightly.

/He was never this excited about our classes back home/ Yami observed /Perhaps he was truly meant for a world of magic./

/What do you mean?/

/Remember Monster World? Remember how much he loved the magic? This is clearly a dream come true for him!/

/Yeah./ Yugi mentally frowned. /Let's hope the spirit does not spoil it for him./

* * *

The spirit in question had gone to sleep.

The spirit was dreaming.

It was not a happy dream:

_The young white haired boy sat on the ground of the blacksmith shop, watching his father work. While it was true __that Kul Elna was a village of thieves that did not mean that everyone living there was a thief._

_While it was true that his mommy and his sister were skilled thieves and pickpockets, the boy's daddy was village blacksmith._

_And he wanted to be like his daddy._

_"Lemme try Daddy! Please let me try!" the boy begged._

_"Okay, okay son!" the man smiled. "You can try."_

_The boy happily banged on the metal. Even though he was young, he showed great talent. His father had already taught him much, even though the boy was barely ten years old._

_Suddenly his big sister burst into the room._

_"Father! Hide Afekia! The Pharaoh's men are coming!"_

_"WHAT!" His father bellowed. "Quick, in here son." _

_The boy found himself shoved inside a forge that was thankfully unlit and had been unlit for a while. He huddled in the ashes, scared stiff._

_Bangs, crashes and curses…then silence._

_The boy peered out. The place was destroyed, his father's work scattered and bent and tossed on the ground. _

_The boy set out to find his family._

_He found them, and the rest of the village, deep in the temple catacombs. The boy watched, wide eyed, as his mother, father and sister were murdered to create the Millennium items._

_"Hey, a child!" One of the guards had spotted him._

_"Get it, there must be no survivors!"_

_The boy ran, he ran into the desert, but the guards followed him. Chased him._

_They were going to kill him, just like they had killed his mommy and daddy._

_He tripped, fell, and started crying._

_"Silence boy, accept your fate!" one of the horrible men growled. He raised his spear._

_A shadow passed over the sun._

_"What the?"__ The guard looked up just in time to see a pair of claws descending from the sky. He dodged._

_The boy looked up and found himself nestled between the huge claws of a golden dragon. The creature looking at him with a strange sad look._

_The dragon's eyes snapped to the guards and he growled._

_"Leave the boy alone." The dragon said in a low, dangerous tone._

_"Out of our way, monster! We are under orders from the Pharaoh!"_

_"Any man that orders the death of a child deserves not the crown." The dragon replied._

_"How dare you!" The guard brought out a golden device on his wrist. "Attack Alligator Sword!"_

_The monster appeared, but was quickly cut down by the dragon's fire. The guards where also consumed._

_The boy cried and cried. He saw a flash of what appeared to be gold fire, but it did not really register._

_Arms enfolded him, almost perfectly human except for the fact that from the elbow down they were covered in golden scales and tipped with sharp claws. Wings came as well, bright and shimmering, embracing him over the arm and sheltering him from the harsh sun._

_"Shh, shh, little one. You are safe now. I promise."_

The spirit snapped awake and groaned. He hated memories.

How he hate them…

* * *

An owl landed in the office of Professor Dumbledore, a note from Bill Weasley in its talons.

Dumbledore read over it then shook his head.

"First Voldemort… now the Thief King…this is bad."

Pocketing the letter, Dumbledore went to tell the staff to keep their eyes open for anyone with a pair of strange golden gloves…


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

A House Divided

* * *

Marik chuckled to himself as he took a big bite out of an apple. It was lunchtime, and the young Egyptian was using this time not only to eat, but to congratulate himself. In the one and a half days he had been here he had managed to wrestle away the dominance Malfoy had over Slytherin…and it was actually all thanks to Kaiba. The way Kaiba had humiliated Malfoy that very first night had done something more than just get the little turd off his back, it had caused Malfoy to lose some serious respect in his House.

Especially since the guy who had done the humiliating had been a "Mudblood."

Kaiba could have gone on to become popular after that, but it was clear that the young CEO had no interest in whatever his housemates were doing; he just wanted to be left alone.

Forever.

So Marik had stepped up to the plate instead of Kaiba. Now that the greatest Voldemort-supporter in Slytherin was…discredited, Marik started forward with his Plan.

Said Plan consisted of these steps:

First, find people who A) hated Malfoy, B) Did not like the whole "purebloods should rule" thing C) were scared stiff of Malfoy or D) Didn't care but still thought Malfoy was at least an irritant.

Second, gather these people.

Last, use this new "gang" to hound Malfoy to insanity and back!

Marik was not sure why he hated Malfoy as much as he did; perhaps Malfoy's attitude vaguely reminded Marik of his own father. Or maybe it was because he teased the first person Marik actually considered a friend, Bakura. Or maybe Malfoy just rubbed Marik the wrong way.

Whatever the reason, Marik was going to make sure Malfoy went down.

Your average Gryffindor would have been surprised at how many actually fit in the above categories. In fact, there were quite a few people in Slytherin who did not believe in Voldemort's vision. The problem had been that most of these people had been too intimidated by Malfoy and his father's influence that none of them had ever even tried to go against Malfoy.

In fact, until Kaiba had come alone no one had ever dared tease Malfoy at all, but now…

By silently and subtly going among his housemates that first night, and being very very charismatic, Marik had managed to find people who were actually willing to rebel against Malfoy, and in turn Voldemort as well (Marik had managed to hear the story of Lord Voldemort almost as soon as he had gotten there). While Marik knew that he could have just turned them all into mind slaves, he did not want to attract the attention that the Rod would have given him. So, he had to rely on conventional methods. Even though he had used the Rod to talk to Yugi through his Rare Hunters at Battle City, most of said Rare Hunters had actually joined him of their own free will.

He was very glad he had never actually relied on the Rod to do everything for him; else he might have been in a slight pickle. As it was, the only one pickly here was Malfoy.

Marik had practically hit gold in the form of Jeremy. While the other Slytherin was quiet during classes, he was not so quiet when you got him on his favorite subject: Quidditch. Apparently the boy was practically obsessed with the game, and that fact had caused him to gain a rather poor view of Voldemort. According to Jeremy, anyone who wanted to start a war was bad news, because war interfered with Quidditch matches. Jeremy had plans to make the sport his profession, and any interference with that goal…irked him greatly. With Jeremy's help Marik had managed to gain a small group of "followers" who were willing to ignore, or even go against, Malfoy.

It helped that Jeremy happened to captain the Slytherin Quidditch team. He had gotten the position after the old captain had graduated. This made him pretty influential in Slytherin House Politics. Since Marik had not only gone against Malfoy, but also seemed to have an interest in Quidditch, Jeremy was starting to like Marik.

The fact that Jeremy found Marik extremely funny helped as well. After the spitball incident Jeremy had practically demanded that Marik demonstrate more "Muggle tricks".

Marik had obliged by showing Jeremy and several others a trick that involved a toilet, Malfoy's head and a bunch of flushing.

Malfoy had deserved it though, he had been badmouthing both Yugi and Bakura to the entire common room that night and after thirty minutes Marik had had enough. So it had been into the toilet with Malfoy's head.

While Jeremy was certainly no replacement for Odeon Marik did indeed enjoy his company.

Marik finished his apple and took a swallow of pumpkin juice. At first he had been wary of the stuff, but after the first few initial sips he decided that the liquid would not poison him. His eyes traveled to the Gryffindor table, where Bakura and Yugi were apparently discussing classes. Marik reached into his pocket and touched his deck.

They had time before lunch ended…

Making his decision, Marik got up and started walking towards the Gryffindor table.

"Look at him, going over to the Gryffindors now!" Malfoy said loudly.

Marik didn't even acknowledge the buffoon, but he did grin a bit when he heard someone say "Shut up Malfoy."

Marik plopped down beside Harry, who looked startled that a Slytherin would just appear and sit without even a by-your-leave. Marik ignored him, and the other Gryffindors who were giving him nasty looks, and pulled out his deck.

Grinning at Bakura (who was across from him) Marik said "You got a new deck assembled yet?"

Bakura nodded.

Marik's grin grew "Wanna play?"

Yami Bakura instantly took over for his host "Your funeral, Marik." He growled.

Harry stared at Bakura. Was Bakura…bristling? It looked like he was when his hair kinda stood up like that…and what happened to his voice? It had gotten all growly again.

The two opponents shuffled their decks, never breaking eye contact with each other.

Unfortunately a certain someone snatched Bakura's deck right out of his hands. Infuriated, the spirit whirled around to behold a certain froglike women with a nasty expression.

Umbridge looked through the deck with a strangely gleeful look. "Well well well, what do we have here?" she said "What horrible looking monsters! Tools of the Dark Arts no doubt."

"They are not tools of your dark arts." The spirit growled "That is my deck. Unhand my monsters right now!"

"I don't think such things are healthy for growing wizards. Why, look at this thing!" Umbridge held up a particularly ugly looking fiend monster. "I should probably destroy these right now!"

Bakura, Yugi and Marik all stared screaming at Umbridge at once. After all, Bakura had just lost his first deck not a week ago. The shouting caught the attention of Professor McGonagall.

"What is going on here?" she asked sternly, her eyes falling on Marik as if she suspected him.

"I merely confiscated some Dark Arts tools from this unruly young Gryffindor here…honestly can't you control your own House?" Umbridge said.

McGonagall became even stiffer than she had been before. Without warning she snatched the cards out of Umbridges hand and scanned through them.

/Yami, back off./ Bakura said /Let me try to handle this./

/…very well…/

Surprised that his evil half would allow this, Bakura turned to McGonagall and said "It's just a Muggle card game. It's perfectly harmless."

"What kind of Muggle card game?" McGonagall asked suspiciously

"It's called Duel Monsters. It's just for fun. It has nothing to do with real magic, just what Muggles think might be magic." Bakura said, hoping that the teacher would swallow this.

"I don't see what harm a Muggle card game could do." McGonagall said.

"But those creatures-"Umbridge said, but McGonagall cut her off.

"Honestly, Muggles have all sort of odd ideas concerning magic. There can't be any harm in these things, no matter how ugly they are. Besides, they don't even move." McGonagall poked a card to emphasize. "Surly you do not think that Muggles can create anything threatening in cards?"

Umbridge narrowed her eyes. There was really mot much she could say to that. Vowing revenge she waddled away.

McGonagall turned her laser gaze at Bakura "Do try not to give her any more leverage, Mr. Bakura." McGonagall handed the cards back to their original owner and swept off.

Bakura breathed a sigh of relief as he took his deck back. "That was close." He muttered.

"You almost lost two decks in the space of a week…" Marik grinned.

"Yeah." Bakura put the deck away "We probably don't have time to duel now and besides I don't want to flash the cards in front Umbridge right after she tried to confiscate them."

"Forget those silly cards, we have class right now!" Hermione said, getting up and rushing away.

"Did she just call Duel Monsters silly? What a strange girl." Bakura said.

"See you guys, I have to go learn about the normal people." Marik grinned.

"Normal people?"

"Muggle studies, or as I am going to call it, my afternoon nap." Marik said, grinning even wider. He walked away, heedless of the odd looks the Gryffindors gave him as he left.

"Well, lets go to class." Yugi said.

* * *

As it turned out they all had to go to different classes, due to the fact that they each had a different elective. Marik (as stated before) had Muggle Studies, Kaiba had Arithmancy, Yugi had Ancient Runes, and Bakura was stuck with Divination.

Let us take a look at each one, shall we?

* * *

In Arithmancy:

Kaiba stared at the magic math problems. He looked from the math to his computer.

He grinned, he grinned very wide and very toothily.

"Hello 'magic' binary." He muttered.

* * *

In Ancient Runes:

Yugi was happily writing down Egyptian runes and having the time of his life. They where given a copy from a tablet that had yet to be deciphered, but Yami could read it just fine.

/Yami! What does that mean?/

/Believe or not…it means 'the King of Thieves was here.'/

/Really?/

/It's a rough translation./

* * *

In Muggle Studies:

"MR. Ishtar!" Professor Burbage bellowed at the snoring Slytherin "You will NOT sleep in my class!"

Marik opened an eye and growled "Look, lady, I'm not one of these interbreed purebloods with no clue about how the real world works. I know everything there is to know about normal people. Probably more then you do. Just be glad I am sleeping and not disrupting the class."

"Alright Mr. Isthar, if you know so much about Muggles, then identify this artifact for me!" She pointed at a computer in the front of the classroom. A really really old one.

"It looks" Marik growled "Like a broken down old Mac that should have been in the scrap heap twelve years ago. I'll bet you it probably still writes in green." He scoffed "It belongs in a museum. If you want to study a real computer, go to a Best Buy or something and buy one with a least more than 12 bits. Something that can handle Word and Excel…not to mention the Internet!"

"The computer is a modern Muggle device."

"They started out in the 1940's with those big supercomputers. The ones that were as big as rooms. That," Marik pointed at the relic "was modern back in the 80s. We've kinda advanced beyond those things now. Heck, they come up with more and more advanced tech every single year. Trust me, that thing is a joke now. Or a fond memory for a forty year old."

Marik had made his point. The professor did not bother him after that.

* * *

In Divination:

Being a fan of all things occult Bakura knew very well that there were frauds in the world. People who went on and on about the 'sacred mysteries' but were only putting on an act.

Professor Trelawney struck Bakura as one of these people. He actually felt a bit sorry for the poor soul. She obviously felt that she had to keep up the air of mystery so that no one figured out that she had didn't have any idea what she was doing.

Right now she was having him 'catch up' with the other students by having him study tea leaves. Harry and Ron had volunteered to help him, mainly to get out of having to do with their own work.

"Let's see, what disaster we can make up here." Harry studied Bakura's cup, while the Japanese boy rolled his eyes. "Doesn't look like he has my old Sheep of Death here…"

"Sheep of Death?" Bakura asked.

"First time Harry got the Grim in his cup, but I thought it looked like a sheep…" Ron said sheepishly.

Bakura snorted.

"Well…umm…looks like you have…a very big bat." Harry said.

"A bat?"

"I think it's a bat."

"What else."

"Ummm, a rope…"

"A rope?" Bakura was starting to think this was a waste of time.

"And…a…a…what is that?"

"Let me look." Bakura groaned.

The mess at the bottom of the cup meant nothing to Bakura.

But it meant something to the spirit.

/That's not a rope! That's a snake! And that thing your friend can't identify…it's a lion!/

/And the bat?/

/It's…a dragon…and it's between the lion and the snake…it's wings are touching each one…/

/What does in mean?/

/I…don't know…/

Bakura stared at the dragon. It was very familiar…

In fact it was in his deck right now.


	13. Chapter 13

An Author's Note: I needed a last name for Jeremy the OC, so I just picked one from the Slytherin Quidditch team in the third book. It will probably clash horribly with actual Harry Potter cannon, but darn it I don't care! Just go with it, okay? Think if it as AU if you want (after all, Marik has already changed Slytherin with his very presence…)

Remember the Mystery Science Theater 3000 theme: Repeat to yourself/ it's just a show/ you should really just relax.

Even though…technically this is a fic not a show…but the idea is the same.

I don't own MST3K by the way, or Harry Potter or Yugioh.

* * *

Chapter 13

Flying, Blowups and Lockpicking

Bakura left Divination with an odd feeling in his stomach, the kind of feeling one gets when one expects disaster on the horizon.

However, weird shapes in tea leaves were to be the least of his worries.

"FLYING LESSONS!" he shrieked at McGonagall when she gave him the news. Needless to say he was not pleased at all.

"Yes, flying lessons. You and the other transfers need to get caught up." She said.

"Let me get this straight, you want me to go up in the air…ON A RICKETY OLD BROOMSTICK!" Bakura was in shock. So shocked that he slipped back into Japanese "Are you out of your mind!!!"

"Please use English when addressing me, Mr. Bakura."

Bakura tried to calm himself "Look, what's wrong with planes? Or helicopters? Or blimps, heck I almost died on a blimp and I know they must be safer then a stick!"

"Mr. Bakura, you are going out to that field and you are going to learn how to fly or I will give you even more detention than you already have!"

* * *

"This is completely and utterly humiliating." Kaiba muttered, giving his broom a death glare.

The transfers were all standing in the middle of the Quidditch field, a broom on the dirt beside each one. Bakura looked ready to faint. Yugi and Marik where excited and Kaiba looked ready to eat Madam Hooch. Off the side where the Slytherin and Gryffindor Quidditch teams, scouting out the new recruits for talent. Angelina Johnson was glaring at Jeremy from across the field, and the look Jeremy was giving Angelina was not exactly friendly either.

"Warrington" Angelina growled.

"What?" Jeremy growled right back.

"What are doing here?"

"Same as you…captain." Jeremy narrowed his eyes "checking out the possible talent from the transfers…or one transfer at least."

"I keep telling you those Mudbloods won't-"Malfoy began, but Jeremy rounded on him.

"Shut up. Not another word out of you Daddy's Boy." Jeremy growled.

Malfoy's mouth dropped open. So did everyone else's mouths for that matter.

"You can't talk to me like that-" Malfoy began.

"Didn't I just tell you to shut up? Shut up!" Jeremy was looking very furious for some reason.

The rest of the Slytherin team and the Gryffindors as well were staring at Jeremy as if he had grown another head.

"What's got into him?" Fred muttered to George. His twin shrugged. The rest of the Slytherin Quidditch team had always basically licked Malfoy's boots because the rather generous contributions that his infamous father had given to the team. While Jeremy had never before actually participated in this, he had never before shown any objection to it either, at least not that the Gryffindor team had been able to see. Now, however, Jeremy was glaring at Malfoy with a look of pure loathing.

Now, back to the rather nervous duelists on the field.

"Relax Bakura, it'll probably be just like a motorcycle." Marik said.

"Coming from you that does not inspire confidence." Bakura muttered.

"Now, hold you hands above your brooms and say 'Up.' " Madam Hooch said.

"You're joking right?" Marik raised an eyebrow "Why don't we just lean down and pick them up?"

"Mr. Ishtar, please follow my instructions." Madam Hooch growled.

/Do these fools use magic for everything? How idiotic./ The evil spirit grumbled.

Three of them, Yugi, Bakura and Marik, managed to get up in the air with no major mishaps. Yugi and Marik took the air like…well like birds. Bakura took a bit of a while to get used to it, mainly because he had to banish the image of a white haired human pancake out of his head before he could concentrate on flying. Eventually, however, he got the hang of it.

Kaiba, however, point blank refused to ride a broom at all. He had enough of what he considered nonsense.

"Look, I have a jet, I don't need a broom." He told Madam Hooch scornfully "It can get up to Mach 5, go higher than these things could even hope to AND it has parachutes. I'm not going up on broom when I have a perfectly good air service already."

"Your missing out on a important part of wizarding life-"

"No thank you." Kaiba said.

Madam Hooch stared at him. "If you insist." She said testily.

Kaiba left.

"What a cowardly Mudblood!" Malfoy bellowed loudly.

"Hmmmm." Jeremy really could not say anything to that comment, because he was thinking the same thing as well. Besides that he was a bit busy watching Marik fly. The young Egyptian handled the broom the same way he had handled his motorcycle. He had even figured out how to do a strange little midair wheelie.

In other words he was having way too much fun on that broom.

"I think we might have found a Chaser." Jeremy said, mostly to himself.

Yugi, on the other hand, was practicing loop de loops and sharp dives. He also appeared to be having the time of his life.

"He's fast." Harry observed. "Make a good Seeker. He's even the right hight for it."

"We already have the best Seeker in the school." Angelina said with a proud look at Harry.

"Well, we can put him on the reserve team…you know just in case." Harry shrugged. Nothing next to near death would keep him away from Quidditch, but with Voldemort lurking about you never know.

"What do you think about Bakura?" Fred asked.

"Well, he seems a lot steadier than the other two. Make either a good Chaser or Keeper…" Angelina observed. "Might work as a Beater as well, if he gets over those nerves of his..."

When the three of them landed they were practically assaulted by the two Quidditch teams. Since Marik had been thinking of joining the team all along he was more then happy to accept Jeremy's offer. Yugi too, seemed excited at the prospect of playing a new kind of game.

Bakura, however, grew even paler than he usually was at the prospect.

"No way, last time I played a game up in the air I nearly died!" He said, backing away from Angelina with a look of horror.

"Oh come on, Bakura." Marik grinned. "That was from the stab wound, not the blimp!"

"Stab wound?" Harry looked at the two of them, concerned.

"And whose fault was that?" Bakura glared at Marik.

"Hey! Do I look like your evil yami-"

"MARIK!" Yugi bellowed at Marik who jerked as if he had been struck. His brain finally caught up with his mouth.

"I mean…uh…" Marik trailed off.

Bakura, not able to take the looks the wizards were giving him, got out of there as fast as he could.

"Nice going Marik." Yugi muttered. He ran after Bakura, and Marik followed him.

After a few movements Fred said "He has an evil…yam?"

"No, yami, the word was yami." Harry said.

"What's a yami?" George said.

"I don't know…" Harry looked very very thoughtful. _But I think I need to find out._

* * *

"Okay, new rule!" Bakura bellowed at Marik and Yugi when they had finally caught up with him "We will not mention Shadow Realms, Millennium Items, and especially evil yamis in front of the wizard people and NOT IN ENGLISH!"

"Bakura-" Yugi started, but the unusually angry Bakura was on a roll.

"I really don't need these people to think I'm any crazier then they already think I am! I especially don't need them to know about the FREAKING LUNATIC RENTING SPACE IN MY BRAIN!"

"If I could just say something here-"Marik started.

"In the past months I've been taken over, stabbed, stuck in the Shadow Realm (which is VERY uncomfortable might I add), had my deck eaten by some I-don't-know-what, thrust in a world full of weirdoes, and gotten some freak of a teacher pissed of at me. To top all that, my idiot yami is talking to a voice I CAN"T HEAR!" Bakura took a deep breath "SO COULD THE PAIR OF YOU PLEASE NOT CONTRIBUTE TO THE IMPRESSION THAT I AM INSANE!"

"…you know the illusion of sanity might be better maintained if you did not scream at us like that." Marik said mildly. "Feel better after that?"

Bakura shut his mouth. He got a thoughtful look on his face "Actually…I feel much better."

"Thought you would. Always healthy to have a nice rant." Marik said.

"And you do have a point. We shouldn't advertise what the Items are capable of, and we probably should not talk about the Shadow Realm and our yamis." Yugi said. "After all, these people think that all dark magic is automatically evil. Frankly, I don't feel like having the Pharaoh exorcised out of me or anything like that."

"So we are agreed then?" Marik said "No talking about Pharaohs or rings or puzzles or anything of that nature unless we are alone and the discussion is in Japanese, that sound fair?" 

The other two nodded. Marik walked off to go to class. Yugi and Bakura, however, had a free period.

/Well, now that you have had a nice little rant, perhaps you would like to use this nice spare time to come into your soulroom so I can get a little more private tutoring in./ the spirit said.

/But Yami…/

/Now Host./

* * *

A few minutes later…

"This," The spirit said, holding up a lockpick for Bakura to see "Is your new best friend, Mr. Lockpick. And this," the spirit dropped a padlock at Bakura's feet "Is your new enemy Mr. Padlock. Have fun."

"Wait, aren't you going to give me a hint?"

"If I get bored, yes."

"But-"

Yami Bakura yawned and walked over to a wall. They were currently in Bakura's soulroom, a well light room with posters of strange magical, mythical and other creatures all over the walls. Tabletop RPG figurines littered the floor. The spirit sat down and proceeded to nap.

Bakura spent the next few hours working on the lock in his soulroom. At first his hands kept slipping and he got very frustrated.

However, after he was ready to throw the thing across the soulroom, the lock opened.

"Yami, I did it." Bakura said.

"Took you long enough." The spirit growled. "That was the easiest lock I have, and it took you this long." Bakura's face fell.

The spirit sighed "Still, better than most have done. You better get back to the real world now, before someone sees you spacing out on your bed."

Bakura nodded and let his mind drift back to the real world. He was just in time, as someone knocked on his door and Harry peered into his room.

"Come on, it's dinner time." Harry said.

"Right." Bakura nodded and rushed out the door.

Harry's eyes scanned the room, memorizing as much as he could on a short notice.

Tonight he would pay Yugi and Bakura a little visit, with a certain cloak he had gotten from his father…


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

The Eye

* * *

Harry rushed through dinner and practically ran back to his dorm, making some excuse about a summer paper that he had actually finished yesterday. He managed to wrangle Hermione and Ron away as well.

"Look, I think we just take a quick peek through their things." Harry said. "Just to make sure."

"You don't really think they'd carry incriminating evidence around in their bags, do you Harry?" Hermione asked.

"I don't know, but it's worth a look. Also, Hermione, do you know what 'yami' means?"

"'Yami?'" Hermione thought for a second. "Why yes. It's Japanese, it means 'Dark'…I think…"

"Dark…as in 'Dark Lord'?" Harry asked.

"What exactly did Bakura say this time?" Hermione asked.

"It was Marik, actually. Bakura didn't want to join the Quidditch team because of some incident involving a blimp and a stab wound, and it sounded like he blamed Marik for it. But then Marik said 'Do I look like your evil yami', but then Yugi cut him off before he could finish the sentence."

"Hmmm, an evil…dark?" Hermione said with a puzzled look.

"Could the sentence have been 'Your evil dark lord?" Ron wondered "As in what Death Eaters call You-Know-Who?"

"I don't know. Honestly I don't know if 'dark' really IS the proper translation of 'yami'. I'm not an expert in Japanese, Ron."

"We should probably start learning some." Harry said "If they are spies they have a big advantage in the fact that they speak a language we don't. For all we know they could be discussing battle plans over the dinner table!"

"We should probably learn some Arabic too…" Hermione said "Marik is Egyptian, remember?"

"Good idea." Harry said. "He was no looking forward to learning yet more this semester, but he had a feeling this was important."

Harry fetched his invisibility cloak and he, Ron and Hermione dove under it. They sneaked over to Yugi and Bakura's room, as quietly as they could. Even though the cloak hid everyone from sight that did not mean it masked sound, and Yugi and Bakura could come up at any minute.

One there, the cloaked teenagers started to rummage through things, starting with Bakura's things. While they where peering through one of his bags a small golden something or other fell out and rolled on the floor.

"What's that?" Harry leaned forward to touch it, but Ron held him back.

"Harry!" he hissed "Remember what happened to Ginny?"

Harry hesitated. He did indeed remember what happened to Ron's sister after she had found a diary that had once belonged to Voldemort. Despite this he was still determined to pick up the gold thing. After all, they could not just leave it on the floor.

He reached for it, and picked it up.

When nothing exploded or flashed or boomed Harry allowed himself to relax. He studied the object in his hand. It looked like a golden marble with a picture of an eye on it.

"What is it?" Hermione asked.

"I don't know, looks like a marble." Harry said. All of a sudden his hand flew to his scar "Ahh."

"What! Does it hurt?" Ron looked ready to run out the door, but he stayed.

"No, it itches." Harry said "It feels like it's coated in mosquito bites."

"Has it done this before?" Hermione asked.

"No, not really." Harry said "It always hurts when Voldemort is around, but it's never itched before."

"Put that thing back! It could be full of Dark Magic!" Ron said in an alarmed tone.

Harry put the Eye back. He was scared now, and he wanted to leave, but he spotted something else in that bag.

"One sec." he muttered and opened the bag wider. A pair of golden gloves glittered in the bag.

"Well, now we know that Bakura likes his gold." Ron muttered.

"You know, I'm getting an itchy feeling from these things as well." Harry groaned.

The doorknob turned.

Quickly the three hid under the invisibility cloak just in time. Yugi walked in yawing, followed by Bakura.

Immediately Bakura noticed the mess on the floor. His eyes narrowed and he stalked over to his fallen bag.

"Yugi, someone's been here!" He said.

Yugi walked over and picked up Bakura's bag, then jerked a little when he saw a certain round familiar something.

"The Millennium Eye? Bakura where did you get it?"

Bakura looked frightened. "It just showed up after Duelist Kingdom, like the Ring did."

"Hmmmm."

"What? Do you want it? Or will you give it back to Pegasus?"

"No…no you better keep it. It might come in handy one day." Yugi smiled "Besides I trust you over Pegasus any day!" Yugi walked out their door, but Bakura still looked frightened.

"Maybe you shouldn't." he muttered and left as well.

Harry, Ron and Hermione quickly left the room and sneaked to Ron and Harry's. They pulled out some papers to make it look like they had been working and started down the stars as if they had just come from getting some homework. When they entered, however, Bakura's eyes landed on them. His gaze grew sharp and suspicious.

/Yami, you think they?/

/Yes. They might have seen the Eye. Be wary around them, my Host. We do not want them to find out to much about the Items./

/You just don't want competition./

/Correct, and you don't want any more friends to be hurt. Even if I can't send people to the Shadow Realm there is still danger to whoever is involved with the Items. Better that they don't know and come to no harm…and I don't have to deal with your whining./

/Or maybe you are starting to care for people?/

/Nonsense Host./

/Hmmmm/

* * *

"We need to research these Millennium Items." Harry said. "We know that Bakura has that eye thing, and a ring."

"I've never seen him wearing a ring, though, just that strange necklace thing." Ron said.

"Still, we can look in the library for them in out spare time." Hermione said "It might be important."

"Right." Harry nodded. He was becoming more and more suspicious about the transfer students by the day.

"It's too bad I have detention all week. Umbridge didn't give the others as much as she gave me, they only get one day and I have to put up with that woman the rest of the week. I'm going to miss Quidditch tryouts." Harry groaned.

Hermione shook her head, amazed at how her companions could go from talking about protecting the world to Quidditch in one statement.

"You guys think I should write to Sirius about this? Maybe he knows about these Millennium things." Harry said.

Hermione nodded "Probably, but be careful. Make it sound like you just heard it in passing or something like that."

* * *

That night was Kaiba, Marik, Harry, and Bakura's first detention with Umbridge, and not one of them were happy about this.

They were even less thrilled when they entered her office.

Never in their lives had these four boys encountered so much pink frilly things. Pink frills were everywhere. Not to mention the disgustingly cute kitten plates everywhere. Even Marik, who liked cats on general principle, was disgusted.

/AHHHHHHHH, our retinas are burning Host! Run for your sanity!/

/I wish I could, oh how I wish I could./ Bakura moaned.

"Good evening, children." Umbrigde said with a smirk.

_How does she manage to look like a crocodile and a frog at the same time?_ Marik thought_ Now that is talent._

Harry attempted to get out of the detention on Friday, because of the Quidditch tryouts, but the witch was having none of it. Instead she gave each of them one of her "special" quills.

"Now, Mr. Potter, I want you to write 'I must not tell lies.' Mr. Kaiba shall write 'I must not question the Ministry's authority' Mr. Marik shall write 'I shall not spit at the teacher' and Mr. Bakura shall write 'I will not fall asleep in class and punch others.'" Umbridge said in her mock sweet voice.

Kaiba scoffed. His stepfather could come up with a better punishment without even trying.

Kaiba was proved wrong when they found out why those quills where 'special'.

/Now THIS is Dark Magic Host!/ the spirit growled /A quill that writes in your own blood!/

/Don't tell me you want this quill?/ Bakura growled.

/Nope, I do what HER blood though, don't you?/

/Yes…actually I do./

Finally the torture ended.

"Who else feels like frog legs?" Marik growled as the four of them left the room.

"Me." Bakura said.

"Me." Harry muttered.

Kaiba just nodded.

"And we have the rest of the week to suffer through this." Marik muttered.

_Could be worst, we could all be wearing dog collars._ Kaiba said to himself.


	15. Chapter 15

An Author's Note: More cannon twisting ahead.

Chapter 15

History

* * *

It was probably a good thing that Marik only had one detention with Umbridge. For one thing he started plotting his terrible revenge the moment he left the room. However there was another reason that made Bakura thankful that they did not have to suffer another night with the woman.

/You do know that his evil half could be triggered by abuse like this, Host?/ the spirit had whispered to Bakura that night.

/You think so?/

/Yami Marik came about from his father's abuse, correct? Therefore similar events may start Marik thinking of that time again, and if that happens…/

Bakura was silent.

/It's not that I care, or anything/ The spirit said /I just despise that annoying little upstart!/

/Of course, Yami./ Bakura said with a mental chuckle.

* * *

"Okay, get away from me you inbreed hick!" Marik snarled at Malfoy. The annoying one had been badgering poor Marik at the breakfast table, and Marik was almost at the point of strangling his opponent.

"What do you mean by that?" Malfoy glared. This was the first time he had ever heard the term "inbreed."

"All of your pureblood nonsense! That's what I'm talking about!" Marik shouted. The entire Great Hall could hear them.

"It's not nonsense!"

"…do you know ANYTHING about genetics?" Marik asked.

"Genwhaticts?"

"Genetics. Look, idiot, pureblood means only one thing: inbreed. Inbreed means genetic flaws. Don't you know anything?"

"Of course he doesn't know he was raised by barbarians." Kaiba said causally.

"Alright then, enlighten me." Malfoy challenged.

Kaiba looked up from his breakfast and sighed. "Alright, listen up. What Marik is trying to get through your thick skull is this: when you breed within families the genetic issues that are prevalent in that family tend to become more and more severe."

"Huh?" Malfoy looked confused.

"Okay…let's try this again." Kaiba moaned in agony at the stupidity around him. "Say your family has a genetic disposition for clubfoot. Now, if in order to keep your blood 'pure' you marry within your family then there is a greater chance for your children to have this genetic disorder."

"What are you talking about?" Malfoy was still stuck on the word "genetics".

Kaiba then went into a rather long lecture about genes and biology and what actually happens when you breed. Within moments almost every Ravenclaw in the place was gathered around him hanging on his every word. They had never heard of this before…neither had any of the other wizards.

"In other words," Kaiba was finally concluding "someone who is born with more genetic diversity is actually better off than someone who is not. Technically it is the so called 'Mudbloods' that are more powerful than the 'purebloods', because they are more diverse genetically. It is simple science." Kaiba said smugly.

"That's a pack of lies!" Malfoy's face was red and angry.

Marik snorted "So sayeth the Hitler youth." He muttered with a grin.

"The what?" Malfoy was confused again.

"You do know who Hitler is, don't you?" Marik said with disbelief.

"No."

A long silence.

"You live in GREAT BRITAN and you don't know who HITLER is?" Marik bellowed "I come from EGYPT and I know who Hitler is! My Ra, you people really are barbarians! What rock do you live under?"

"Well, that actually expains a lot." Seto grinned "You people are so stupid that you don't even realize what's been happing in the world around you."

"What was it? Some stupid Muggle war? Who cares what a bunch of Muggles do. Far as I am concerned they can all just kill each other off, the idiot-"

Suddenly Malfoy was whacked from behind. He turned around to behold a very angry looking Bakura, not the spirit, the real Bakura.

"You had better not finish that sentence." Bakura said in a low, strangely dangerous voice. "That war was NOT just 'some stupid Muggle war' and if you had a brain in your skull you would know that."

Another long silence.

Professor McGonagall, benefiting from the Trouble-Radar that all teachers seem to have, shooed the crowd off to classes. Bakura, however, continued to glare at Malfoy.

"Mr. Bakura, get to class now." She said.

Bakura grunted and left, looking unnaturally angry. In fact he almost looked like his yami on a good day.

"What's wrong?" Yugi asked as they started heading to class, Harry, Ron and Hermione listening in.

"It's just…my grandfather…he was Kamikaze." Bakura said.

"A what?" Ron asked, genuinely curious.

Bakura gave him a look, not as hostile as the one he had give Malfoy, but still mildly contemptuous "He fought against YOUR people in World War II, he died fighting you." He said quietly. "Honestly, you might have been on opposite sides, but the least you can do is remember it!"

"Bakura, wizards don't learn Muggle history in school!" Ron said.

"Well maybe they should, you might learn a few things." Bakura said coldly as he walked away.

"He does have a point there." Hermione said.

Harry merely looked thoughtful.

* * *

Harry scanned the letter he had written to Sirius. It seemed harmless looking, even the part where he mentioned the Millennium Items. He doubted that anyone who looked at it would suspect anything…he hoped.

He looked over at the two transfer students. They where busy discussing whither or not to use a school owl for the letters Yugi was sending to Japan, or to try out Robot.

"How about you send your stuff by owl, and I'll send this thank you note to your grandfather with Robot, that way we'll know." Bakura suggested.

"Good idea I guess."

Harry watched with some interest as Bakura tied a note to Robot's claws. He found it rather strange to be staring at a miniature version of a creature that had tried to fry him last year. The little dragon point blank refused to roost with the school owls like most student owls did. Instead he had made himself a miniature lair up in the rafters somewhere. Harry did not want to know where.

He was so distracted by his thoughts that he did not notice Yugi coming his direction.

"You sending a letter?" he asked.

"Umm, yes." There was no denying it. The letter was sitting right there.

"Great! You think you can give me a hand? I'm still not sure how this is supposed to work."

"Didn't Fred and George-"

"Yeah, but I like to make sure about these things." Yugi said cheerily.

Actually, Yugi was perfectly clear on how to send notes via owl. He was just…scouting Harry. He knew that Bakura and the evil spirit thought that Harry and his friends had spied on him, and Yugi and the Pharaoh thought it was best to keep an eye on them.

Besides, wasn't it a bit weird to send letters to your dog?

Harry was stuck with him. While he did kinda like Yugi, he also was wary in case the young boy decided to jump him. While his logic told them that was unlikely, his experience told him it was very likely.

When he realized he was starting to think like Mad-Eye Moody he almost hit himself.

As he was tying his note to Hedwig's leg he thought of something. He wondered if how Yugi would react to a question…

"Hey, Yugi, can I ask you something?" Harry began.

"Sure."

"Is Bakura…well…?"

"What about Bakura?"

"Is he schizophrenic?"

Yugi stiffened. "What?"

"It's just, well, sometimes he acts like it. You know, like he had multiple personality disorder or something like that."

Yugi sighed. "That's…not my story to tell. He's not dangerous, if that is what you are wondering."

"But-"

"Look," Yugi was desperate for something to say "for a long time he really had trouble making friends. He's been alone for so long. He'd never hurt anyone one on purpose, but it's been pretty rough for him."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean…." Yugi was grasping at straws "He's kinda been…well…"

Harry's mind made a connection "Yugi, did someone abuse him?"

Yugi hesitated "You could say that…"

"Is he-"

"Enough! He's my friend, Harry! I'm not going to spill all of his secrets to you! If you want to know so badly ask him! Don't try to get me to betray him!"

Harry felt pretty low now. He now knew that if Bakura really was mentally unbalanced then that meant that Yugi was probably one of the few people he really trusted, and Harry had just asked Yugi to betray that trust.

"I'm sorry." Harry said honestly "I just-. I don't mean to-"

"Never mind. Just…if you have an issue with Bakura take it up with him, not with me. Okay?"

"Okay, I really am sorry Yugi."

"Yeah, okay. No problem."

Yugi was forgiving person, and he did forgive Harry right then and there.

But he was defiantly going to tell Bakura about this little conversation.

_

* * *

Little brother?_

/What do you want now?/

_You remember our family?_

/The Band? Of course I do!/

_Do you remember the King? The one before you?_

/Of course!/

_The White Lion?_

/Yes, my memory is not that bad!/

_Then why did you dishonor ours?_

/WHAT!/

_Why did you dishonor the Band? Why did you dishonor the man who raised you as a son after your village? Why did you dishonor the Shadow Beast that stalked by your side for all those years? Little brother, why did you dishonor me?_

/I was avenging you! I was taking down a tyrant that caused the death of-/

_Fool! You threw away your life for a silly vendetta! How many times did I tell you that revenge is not worth the price you pay!? How many times did I tell you that attacking someone who was a boy when your village was destroyed proves absolutely nothing! How many times did I tell you that your integrity was more important than everything else. But the moment I was not there-_

/HE KILLED YOU!/

A long silence…then.

_What about…her?_

/NEVER SPEAK OF HER! YOU HEAR ME!/

_You really can be stubborn, can't you?_

The original owner of the body in which this conversation was happening groaned and held his head.

When would this end?

* * *

Sirius Black's hands trembled as he read the last line of Harry's letter over and over again.

"Millennium items? NO!"

"Something wrong?" someone asked.

Sirius walked over to the person and shoved the note in his hand "Read that Remus! You see what that says?"

Lupin's eyes scanned the paper. He grew pale when he read the last line.

"What have they gotten themselves into now?" he moaned.

"I have to go to Hogwarts now, Remus, you know-"

"No! I'll go!"

"But-"

"You know that Dumbledore wants you to stay here, Sirius."

Lupin could recognize the stubborn, angry look on Sirius's face. He could tell that he yearned to rush to his godson's side. But Lupin also knew that would be begging the Ministry to find him and kill him.

"The next Hogsmead weekend should be soon." Lupin said "I could…accidentally run into my old students while just passing by…"

Sirius sighed. "Alright, but if I hear one rumor of a monster I am going to that school!"

Lupin wished there was a way to make his oldest surviving friend see reason…


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

The Items

* * *

As it turned out Marik made the team without that much trouble. Unfortunately he also had to listen to Jeremy lecture to him about not bothering Malfoy while practicing or during a match.

"I know you don't like him. Personally I don't either. But I am not going to let your feud ruin our chances at the Cup, okay?"

Marik hated being told what to do by anybody, but he swallowed his pride and agreed with Jeremy's demands. So Malfoy was off limits to him during Quidditch.

Yugi, too, also made the reserve Gryffindor team. In case anything happened to Harry, he would be taking over as Seeker.

Bakura, however, would not even try to approach the game at all. Not only was he still a bit wary about heights, but he also did not like the thought of what would occur if his yami became too…energetic.

Of course, once Marik knew that Yugi was on the reserve team, he started badgering Harry to get sick so he could "knock his Majesty of his high broom."

Harry could not help but wonder how in the world the three of them managed to be friends in the first place…

* * *

On night after a friendly game of Duel Monsters, well reasonably friendly, the relative peace of the common room was shattered when an agitated Robot burst through the window, followed by a very angry looking screech owl. Robot turned in midair and blew smoke at the owl, which dove and clawed at the poor little dragon's face.

"Hey!" Bakura leaped up and grabbed the owl's neck, determined to save his dragon.

Robot, sensing opportunity, slashed at the message on the owl's leg. The scroll fell on the table, scattering cards.

"Hermes?" Ron stared at the familiar owl.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't roast this bird." Bakura (actually the spirit) said dangerously.

"It's my older brother's owl…" Ron said, uncertain whether or not to rescue the thing or not.

/Let the poor thing go./ the real Bakura demanded.

/Hmmp./ the spirit grunted, but the let the bird go. Hermes puffed himself up and gave Robot a glare before flapping out the window in a huff.

Yugi picked up the scroll, which fell open due to Robot's slashing. His eyes fell on a certain paragraph. It mentioned something about Harry being unbalanced and violent.

"Ummm, can I have my letter?" Ron asked.

"Oh, sorry." Yugi said "But…"

Ron read it, his scowl growing. After he was done he threw it to Harry and Hermione. Yugi felt nervous about accidentally reading the thing, but he was now very curious as to why Ron's brother would call his best friend a lunatic.

Once Harry and Hermione had finished the letter, Yugi decide to go ahead and ask. "Harry, why would this Percy guy write those things?"

"It's because he's the Minister's lapdog and he swallows whatever they say." Ron said bitterly.

"Alright, this is getting annoying!" The ring spirit growled through Bakura "What is going on here!"

Harry then realized that these people, transfers who had no contact with the wizarding world before, had no idea about the current problems with the Ministry and Voldemort.

"Do you know who Lord Voldemort is?" Hermione asked, coming to the same conclusion Harry had "Oh don't jump Ron."

"No." they chorused.

"Okay…well he was a bit like a wizard version of Hitler…"

Hermione, with some help from Harry, explained about Voldemort and how he had returned just last year. Harry did not give them any more information then he had given anyone else. He still was not ready to talk about what had happened. The two transfers got the basic gist, though.

"So there is a madman running around loose, and your government does not want to deal with it because they think you are just trying to get attention and that Dumbledore just wants power?" Yugi looked a bit scared now "Are they out of their minds?"

"So, you believe me?" Harry asked.

Yugi shrugged "I had never thought this kind of magic existed once upon a time but it does. So why wouldn't you be able to resurrect an evil monster? Anything's possible."

"Same here." Bakura nodded. "Besides you obviously have nothing to gain by saying all of this, seeing as how every time you do people think you are making it up. If its some bid for power it is a pretty poor one, so it must be true."

"And on that note, I'm going to bed." Yugi yawned. "See you tomorrow."

With that Bakura and Yugi left.

A few moments later Ron, Harry and Hermione were surprised by seeing Sirius's head in the fire.

After establishing some whys and wherefores, Sirius got down to business. "First off, about the Millennium Items. Remus is going to meet you guys in Hogsmead by the Shrieking Shack to talk about them. Keep an eye out for him, but don't make it obvious that you were expecting him, make it look like a chance encounter."

"Now about your scar, Harry…"

* * *

The next morning when Marik went over to the Gryffindor table, he had made going over there a habit just to piss people off, he noticed that Harry's gang were exclaiming over a newspaper.

"What's this…Umbridge has been named…Hogwarts High Inquisitor?" Marik read over Hermione's shoulder. Then he burst out laughing.

"What is so funny?" Hermoine asked.

"You people really ARE stuck in the dark ages! High Inquisitor? What's next? A hanging?"

"Yeah, my hanging." Harry said.

Right then Umbridge herself walked by.

Marik could not help himself. He started to frantically salaam the woman. Loudly he shrieked.

"DON'T BURN ME, SPANISH PRIEST! DON'T BURN ME! I'M TOO NICE TO BURN! I'M TOO INTELLEGENT TO BURN! I'M TOO SPECIAL TO BURN!!"

"Yeah, Special Ed." Bakura muttered.

Umbridge was so flabbergasted she just kept walking, hoping the nut would not try anything else.

"Are you done being a fool?" Bakura asked.

"Hummm, yes I think so." Marik said with a grin. "See you at lunch."

"Bakura?"

"Yes Yugi."

"What do you think is going on with Marik…he didn't use to act so…strange."

Bakura hesitated. "Well, this is just a theory but…I think it might be a defense."

"A defense?"

"Against Yami Marik. Remember how he was brought out by Marik's pain and anger?"

"Yes."

"Well, I think that he's been struggling not to feel that way anymore, so as not to let his yami out again. I think he is using humor to keep a good disposition, so that Battle City never happens again."

"That makes sense…so we should encourage this…right?"

"We should encourage him to be happy, Yugi. I think that would be best for everyone involved."

* * *

The day before the first Hogsmead weekend, Hermione approached Yugi and Bakura with a proposal.

"I've been thinking, about our Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons. Well, we all know that Umbridge is not going to teach us anything, right."

"Yes…" Bakura said.

"Well, I've thought of a substitute."

"Who?" Yugi asked.

"Harry. Would you two be willing to meet us at the Hog's Head tomorrow?"

A brief conference in Japanese followed.

"Can we invite Marik and Kaiba?" Yugi finally asked.

"Well…" Hermione thought about that. She had never expected a Slytherin to want to go…but then again if they wanted to who was she to tell them it was a three house only thing? And Marik seemed nice enough. "Yes." She finally said.

"Great! I'll go talk to him!" Yugi dashed off.

Bakura shot Hermione a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, Marik is an okay guy. He would never rat us out to Umbridge."

Hermione wished she could believe him.

* * *

Harry, Ron and Hermione walked towards the Shrieking Shack, trying to look like they were sightseeing. Fortunately no one followed them.

They found Remus Lupin idly wandering around the back of the Shack, pretending to look at the roof. As always he looked a bit ratty around the edges. His face lit up when he saw them.

"Harry, fancy meeting you here." He said with a knowing smile. "How have you been?"

"Okay, except for Umbridge." Harry said.

Lupin frowned "Has she been giving you much trouble?"

"Yep." Harry said, not wanting to talk any more about it. "Can you tell us about the Millennium Items?"

Lupin closed his eyes and sighed. "When your father was alive, before the first war with Voldemort the four of us took a trip to Egypt. One day we meet a Muggle by the name of Muto."

"Muto! That's Yugi's last name!" Harry burst forth.

"Really? That's…an interesting coincidence." Lupin looked even more troubled. "Well, this man looked like he had just come out of the desert, all dusty and smelling like camels…but eh was also grinning and looked like he had just won the lottery.

James, being James, got curious and asked him what he was so excited about.

'I just found the legendary Millennium Puzzle, young man!' he said

Well, we had never heard of this Millennium Puzzle, so we asked him about it. He seemed eager to tell the story.

He told us that, long ago in Ancient Egypt a mysteries game known as the Shadow Games was played. This game was so powerful and so dangerous that the Egyptians locked the power away into seven Millennium Items.

We thought it was a bunch of Muggle rubbish, but I did some investigating, and it turns out that the man was right; the Items exist out there somewhere. I don't remember everything I read about them, but I do remember that many believe that the Shadow Games was a force that made even the Dark Magic tremble in fear.

I know that there is one item, the Millennium Rod, that can perform an Unforgivable Curse, and another, the Millennium Eye, can read minds. The worst one, however, is the Millennium Puzzle, the one that man claimed to have found."

"What can it do?" Harry asked.

"Supposedly it is supposed to 'unlock the powers of the Shadows' to whoever solves it."

"Lupin, Yugi…if he is related to man you meet, do you think he might have the Puzzle?"

"I don't know." Lupin said "But it is possible."

"We KNOW that Bakura has that Eye, we saw it!" Ron said "He could have been reading our minds all this time!"

"Harry, if these boys have these items you must be very wary." Lupin said "It may be they don't know what they have, but if they do, they could pose a serious threat to all of us!"

Harry sighed. He wished he could be certain about Yugi and Bakura.

"You are right, Lupin, they can't be trusted." Harry said. "I hope you are wrong about this, but if you aren't…I'll stay on my guard around them!"

"Good idea. I'll try to find out more about those Items as well." Lupin promised.

"We have to go now; it was great seeing you again, Lupin." Harry said. Even though what Lupin had said had not left Harry in a peaceful frame of mind at all.

"Be careful Harry." Lupin muttered to himself as he watched them leave.


	17. Chapter 17

An Author's note: People have been asking how I update so fast. Actually, the only reason the updates are coming so fast is because I'm done with all my Christmas stuff and I have nothing better to do at the moment. Also, the plot bunnies have decided to hop about the Yugioh field. Be warned, if the bunnies get bored here they will move to another field.

Enjoy the fast updates while they last, friends.

OC alert.

Chapter 17

The DA

* * *

One might have thought that Marik had gone back to his Rare Hunter ways, the way he was chuckling evilly over the large bag of Zonko products. Not only had Yugi managed to convince Kaiba and Marik to come (and Bakura still had no idea what Yugi must have said to convince Kaiba), but Marik had somehow conned Jeremy into coming as well (though Jeremy looked slightly dubious on the whole deal).

"Marik, you are scaring the little children." Bakura said with a grin. "Not to mention me…"

Marik just gave another evil laugh. A full blown Mwhahahah, in fact.

Bakura sighed.

"Are you people done?" Kaiba grumbled. "I want to get to that meeting of yours and leave as soon as possible."

"Oh come on Kaiba, take a look at this!" Marik pulled something out of his bag "It's a firework that lights by just poking it!"

"How fun." Kaiba said in a dry tone.

"Come on, we have to find this Hog's Head tavern…pub…place."

"Good, I need a beer."

Everyone stared at Kaiba.

"What? I'm legal drinking age!" He defended.

"In Britain, or in Japan?" Yugi asked with a grin.

"Does it matter?" Kaiba asked.

"Thank goodness, there it is." Bakura muttered. He also noticed that Fred, George and their friend Lee were about to head in as well.

"No way." Fred muttered "Who invited Slytherin here?"

"Me." Yugi said.

"Are you nuts, Spike?" George said, wide eyed. "I can kinda see why you would ask those two, but HIM." George pointed at Jeremy "Why are you here?"

"Because I feel like it." Jeremy said with a clenched jaw.

"But-"

"Not all of us are like Malfoy, Weasley." Jeremy said with a tense look. "I don't like Umbridge any more than you do."

The twins looked at each other "We're keeping an eye on you, pal." Fred said.

"Good, maybe you'll learn something." Jeremy said with a grin.

* * *

"Did you notice how much Harry was staring at my Puzzle?" Yugi said as the small group left the Hog's Head after the meeting. 

"Yeah, it was bit weird if you ask me…" Bakura said.

"Will you people please speak my language?" Jeremy asked.

"Sorry." Yugi said in Japanese.

Jeremy sighed in exasperation. "Not only have I just joined a possibly illegal defense group with a bunch of people who hate me, but I also have to listen to Japanese people…"

"I can start speaking Arabic if that will make you feel better." Marik said with a grin.

Jeremy rolled his eyes at Marik.

* * *

The next morning brought yet more tension with the arrival of Educational Degree Number 24.

"All organizations are disbanded?" Yugi read in disbelief "Bakura, do you think?"

"I don't know…but you know who they will suspect first?"

"Marik!"

As it turned out, Fred and George did indeed suspect Marik and Jeremy of rating the group out, as they cornered the two of them in the hallway before dinner and started interrogating the two. Fortunately, Hermione rescued them.

"Look, I jinxed the paper, they couldn't have told or we would be able to tell." Hermione said.

"Oh." Fred said, disappointed.

"I'VE DONE IT!" Kaiba's voice rang out from across the Great Hall.

"What now?" Hermione asked.

Over at the Slytherin table Kaiba was turning his computer on, and it turned on. The hum of technology rang for the first time through the Great Hall.

"Say hello to modern science, you cave men!" Kaiba shouted in a delighted voice. A few moments later a familiar face appeared on the screen.

"Hey big brother! How's it going?" Mokuba asked.

"Fine Mokuba, just fine."

"Wow! Is that the school?" Mokuba peered from the computer. "Wish I could go."

"Hmp, no you don't." Kaiba said.

"Hello, Mokuba." Yugi said over Kaiba's shoulder. Kaiba grunted, but said nothing.

"Hi Yugi!" Mokuba said. "And that's…Bakura, right? How's your arm?"

"Fine." Bakura said.

"It's…almost like communicating with Floo, huh?" Ron said.

"It's a video phone, I think." Harry said. "Wonder how he got it to work on Hogwarts grounds though."

Hermione just stared, mouth agape "You shouldn't be able to do that…you just shouldn't…that Kaiba must be some sort of genius."

* * *

That night:

_A part of the spirit knew that this was yet another dream, and he was not happy…but he could not stop it._

_"Okay, little brother, just grab that cup thing from that lord guy's bedroom for the Band. You think you can handle that?" The golden dragon said._

_"Not a problem, Gorneel." Afekia nodded calmly._

_"I won't be there to save your skin if you fall, you know that right?"_

_"I won't need your help." The teenage thief said calmly._

_"Good luck then." The dragon said as he flapped away._

_"Don't need luck either, brother." Afekia muttered to himself._

_The claws he had forged himself not a week ago served him well that night. They gripped the side of the castle just he imagined they would. They kept him attached to the cold stone perfectly._

_"Strange how different these northern castles are to the ones in Egypt." He muttered to himself. "Not even the same kind of stone…"_

_He lifted himself into the bed chamber. There was no one about. _

_"Nobility and their feasts, doesn't change no matter where you go." He said as he lifted some jewels and gold from the dresser._

_"Arrogant thieves don't change much either."_

_Afekia whirled around. There was a young woman behind him about his age. She had dark black hair and large brown eyes. She was also giving him an odd look. _

_"You better get out of here before I have to gut you." Afekia said. It was bluff, but he was good a bluffing._

_The woman considered him, then gave him an odd smile. _

_Suddenly she moved. She caught him completely by surprise. How in the world such a small girl had managed to pin him to a wall was beyond his comprehension, but it happened. _

_He was even more shocked when she kissed him._

_Quickly she ran out the door._

_Afekia was stunned for a good ten minutes then he realized that she had just picked his pocket. All of his loot was gone. _

_Angrily he ran out the door just in time to see the woman riding away on a horse._

_Snarling at his own stupidity (and hormones) he scaled down the wall as fast as he could and got his own horse. Swiftly he began to chase the odd woman._

_"Fool woman is heading straight to our camp!" He muttered to himself._

_He grinned when he saw a great shadow pass over the moon, Gorneel._

_The golden dragon landed right in the path of the woman's horse. The beast reared, but the woman managed to stay on._

_"Who are you?" The dragon growled. All around them the members of the Band crept from the shadows, surrounding the girl._

_"I come to join the Band." The girl said boldly._

_Afekia snorted._

_"Why would you want to do that, young lady?" The Thief King, the Band's master, stepped forward and sized her up._

_"My reasons are my own, but do not think I come empty handed, your Majesty." She threw Afekia's hard stolen loot on the ground._

_The King's eyes went from the loot on the ground, the girl and finally landed on Afekia "Weren't you supposed to rob that castle, boy?" he asked._

_"I…but…she tricked me!" Afekia struggled to find a proper response to this humiliation._

_"So, in other words she stole from you." The King started laughing. "I suppose you might end up useful, girl, you can join us for now." _

_Afekia protested, he protested very loudly and for very long, but in the end the decision was final._

_The woman joined the Band._

The spirit that had once called himself Afekia woke up with a groan. He had not thought of her in a long time.

_You didn't get along at first. In fact you hated her and she hated you. But then the King demanded you start working together, and you were a great team. You started to like each other more and more and then…_

/Enough Gorneel./ the spirit growled.

_What's the matter? Don't like talking about the woman you loved?_

/Leave it alone!/

_Stop shoving her memory away!_

/NO!/

_Afekia you fool…she was your WIFE!_

/…and that's why I don't want to remember! Why are you torturing me like this!/

_I'm not trying to hurt you._ The dragon's voice was filled with sadness _I'm trying to open your eyes._

* * *

Bakura, the real one, groaned awake. Darn this was getting annoying! He hated hearing his dark half argue with something that did not exist.

He was still hearing voices.

With a moan he got up and listened. The voices where coming from the Common Room.

Stealthy he crept down to take a look. He was shocked to find Harry, Ron and Hermione sitting there talking to a head in the fire.

"What is that?" Bakura squeaked.

Harry whirled around.

"Oh no…" he muttered.

"Who is that?" Bakura asked.

Harry gulped "Bakura...meet my godfather."


	18. Chapter 18

An Author's Note: The song featured in this chapter is not owned by me. It is owned by a Canadian group called the Arrogant Worms. I came across this on Youtube and thought it was prefect for Umbridge.

Blame Youtube for this chapter.

I don't own Yugioh or Harry Potter either.

* * *

Chapter 18

What Can Technology Do For You?

Before Bakura could ask any more questions a pudgy be-ringed hand emerged in the fire, groping for Sirius's head. Sirius vanished.

Bakura stared at the fireplace, still shocked. "What is going on here?" he asked.

Harry was saved from having to answer when someone starting banging on the walls outside the door to the tower.

"Hello! Anyone there?" Marik's voice filtered through the walls. "Tomb Robber, open up!"

"What in the world does he want at this hour?" Hermione asked, terrible thoughts darting through her head that mainly featured dead Harry's. Bakura, however, did not hesitate to open the portrait and let Marik and a jumpy looking Jeremy into the Gryffindor common room.

"Hi, I need to borrow your brothers for the night." Marik gave Ron his most innocent grin…which was actually a very good innocent grin. Ron did not buy it.

"Why?" Ron asked with a growl.

"I need their expertise and knowledge of the school grounds. And don't you sidle away, Tomb Robber." Marik grinned at Bakura, who was trying to escape "I need you too."

"What are you planning?" Harry asked.

"Do you want to see Umbridge humiliated tomorrow, or not?" Marik asked, a smirk on his face.

Harry stared at Marik for a second then to Hermione's and Ron's surprise he went and got the twins.

"What do they want?" Fred gave Marik a nasty look.

"I have a proposition for you two, come on let's talk outside." Marik grinned. "Come on Tomb Robber."

"Why me." Bakura groaned and rolled his eyes to sky.

"Harry-" Ron started.

"Invisibility cloak." Harry whispered.

The other two nodded.

* * *

A few minutes later Harry, Ron and Hermione were following the small group to an empty classroom. Marik was showing Fred, George and Bakura some small…things.

"All we have to do is wire the class with these things. Then when Umbridge walks in we push a button and…" Marik was grinning like a loon.

"What makes you think these things will work?" George asked.

"How many people here actually have that much experience with technology? Ten maybe?" Marik snorted. "It'll be more effective, because no one will know how it works."

"How did you get these?" Bakura asked.

"Kaiba."

"You got Kaiba to agree to this?"

"No, I got him to supply us, big difference." Marik said.

"And how will they not be traced backed to him?" Bakura asked.

"Because these guys are dumb." Marik said. Jeremy and the twins looked insulted.

Fred and George looked at each other. "It might be interesting." Fred admitted.

"We'll do it." They agreed.

That night the five of them wired the DADA class with the devices. The wizard born where a bit surprised to find that Bakura was very good at opening doors by crawling on the outside wall of the castle and invading the room and then letting them in. They had never realized, with his seeming fear of heights, that he had it in him…but then again they did not have a pushy spirit demanding that they perform this feat.

They also found themselves impressed at how good Marik was at hiding small objects in a classroom.

Needless to say, the operation went flawlessly.

* * *

Harry, Ron and Hermione, for their part, had no idea what these devices would do, but then again they had more pressing issues at hand.

"What should we do about Bakura, he's seen Sirius." Harry groaned.

"Well…we could tell him the truth…edited of course." Hermione said.

"What do you mean, Hermione?" Ron asked.

"Well, if he is in contact with Voldemort, he probably knows about Wormtail. Which means he might already know about what really happened to Harry's parents. So, if we just tell him what Wormtail would be able to tell him then we can answer his questions without worrying too much."

"So…just don't talk about the Order of the Phoenix or anything like that." Ron said.

"Right."

"I don't know, Hermione. It's a big risk."

"Would you rather he go around yapping about Harry's godfather?" Hermione said.

Harry sighed. There was really no go choice here.

* * *

The next morning when Umbridge walked into her class and opened her mouth to speak a strange song echoed throughout the walls.

It went something like this:

I am cow, hear me moo

I weigh twice as much as you

And I look good on the Bar-B-Que…

Umbridge was completely unable to get her class to come to order. It is very hard to come to order when you are laughing until you cry.

For the rest of the day that song played in the DADA room in a continual loop. No one, not even Filch, knew how to stop it (mainly because they could not find the little devices scattered about the class). While Umbridge was furious, the rest of the staff seemed mildly amused. Even Snape grinned a little every time he passed the room. Some even swore they could here McGonagall humming it when she thought no one was looking.

Everyone, true to Marik's suspicion, felt that it was truly cleaver spell. Therefore, no one even thought of looking at Kaiba and his technology.

"You know Fred; I think we finally found two guys that can carry on our fine traditions after we leave this school." George said. He had decided that, despite the fact that he was a Slytherin Marik was an okay guy.

"With their technology combined with our knowledge, they could really go far." Fred grinned. "Even though Marik is a Slytherin. And to be frank I never thought that Warrington would pull stunts like this…"

"Me either." George said.

"So we take 'em under our wings?" Fred grinned.

"Oh yes."

* * *

Harry tried to avoid Bakura that day, mainly because he was not looking forward to answering questions about Sirius. However, eventually Bakura managed to corner him.

Normally, Bakura really would not have been so persistent, but after being badgered by the spirit for a few hours…

It seemed that the spirit had replaced his normal methods of control in favor of a new strategy: constant nagging.

"Harry, could you please tell me why in the world your godfather is apparently on Umbridge's hit list?" he asked. The spirit listened very closely.

"First, promise me you will not tell anyone about this." Harry said. He was not sure if he could trust Bakura, but he had been backed into a corner (literally).

Harry told Bakura the basic story. The moment that Harry mentioned the name "Wormtail" the spirit practically leaped in joy in Bakura's mind.

After promising not to tell anyone about Sirius, Bakura aimed his attention to his strangely gleeful spirit.

/What is your deal now?/ Bakura asked.

/We are getting closer, Host, closer to the secrets held by these wizards!/ the spirit said.

/Huh?/

/Wormtail was the name of the man that we saw with our friendly spy Snape that night, remember?/

/Yes, I remember…but why do you care?/

/Because I hate secrets!/

/Oh brother…/ Bakura muttered.

* * *

"Are you sure this is the way?" Marik asked.

"Pretty sure this is the way to the meeting…" Yugi said. He looked excited at the prospect of their first DA meeting. The four transfer students were traveling together to the first meeting.

"Here we go." Bakura said as the group entered the room.

"Hmp." Kaiba grunted in an impressed manner at the various objects around the room meant to repel the Dark Arts.

After taking care of some more internal business they started in on the actual defense.

Marik and Bakura found themselves paired together. Neither of them had done a Disarming Charm before, but as usual it seemed that Bakura picked it up rather well.

This irritated Marik.

"Okay, enough with the nonsense! I'll show you people defense!" Marik bellowed after his wand flew across the room for the third time. Pulling a knife from somewhere on his person he lunged at Bakura. He knew perfectly well that the spirit would defend his host, and besides that he really was not aiming to kill at all. This did not stop several girls from squealing in pure fright at the sight.

/Let's see how you do, Host./ the spirit grinned and took a back seat.

Bakura was horrified at the sight of the knife heading towards his head, but he leaped back and actually avoided the thing by a mile. Marik stabbed towards his arm, the same one injured at Battle City not to long ago, but this time Bakura sidestepped out of the way. Marik gave Bakura a horizontal slash, but Bakura kept his momentum and circled around behind Marik.

/You did pick up some things, good./ the spirit approved. /Now attack! Show no mercy!/

Bakura obeyed and grabbed Marik's wrist (the unarmed one) and tried to perform a maneuver similar to the one that the spirit has used on the zombie gang in Battle City. It did not turn out right, as Marik twisted his body around and playfully nicked Bakura's cheek with his knife. Bakura released the wrist and sprang back.

/Memo: Work on attack./ the spirit muttered.

"Do something!" Hermione bellowed at Kaiba.

"Okay…Stop leaning forwards, Marik, you're off balance!" Kaiba bellowed.

Hermione gaped at Kaiba.

"It's easier to unbalance your enemy if they are leaning like that." Kaiba commented.

Marik darted forward, but unfortunately he did not take Kaiba's advice and leaned again. Bakura ducked under the knife then performed a similar uppercut that he had used on Umbridge. It connected with Marik's stomach.

"Okay, I think you win." Marik wheezed. "Where did you learn that?"

"Evil spirit."

"He's teaching you?"

"Yep."

"Hmmp, good teacher." Marik grunted.

"Don't lean next time." Kaiba commented in a bored tone.

The rest of the lesson went by without any incidents, though people were giving Marik and Bakura odd looks the rest of the night.

Unbeknownst to the duelists, their actions had just raised the suspicions of Harry, Ron and Hermione. It seemed the more the wizards got to know them the more they looked like killers and spies…


	19. Chapter 19

An Author's note: I do not own anything by George Orwell. Also note that I found the "Big Brother Awards" on the Wonderful World of Wikipedia. They are real, believe it or not…

I also do not own any lyrics to any songs found in Harry Potter, as I do not own Harry Potter. Or Yugioh.

* * *

Chapter 19

Quidditch

If Harry, Ron and Hermione could see what went on in Bakura's mind during the spirit's training sessions, they would have been positive that Bakura was an assassin. Who else would train by jumping from building roof to building roof?

"I never knew your soulroom was this big." Bakura commented as he scrambled up a building wall. This place in the spirit's mind was a recreation of various cities he had visited in his life…or rather their roofs. He was using it now to train his host on the fine art of wall climbing.

"Well it's not like I had a lot to do while trapped in the Ring all that time." The spirit grinned and sat beside his host. They were currently perched on a tall tower.

"So you've been to all these places?" Bakura asked, looking at the conglomeration of roofs.

"Yep." The spirit replied. "Been just about everywhere in the then known world. Stole a bunch of things too."

Bakura stared in the distance, thinking to himself.

"Hey yami?"

"What?"

"If you weren't obsessed with getting all the Millennium Items, what would you want to do?"

The spirit paused for a second. "Well. I suppose I would want to visit some modern cities. You know, climb on _their_ roofs. Steal _their_ stuff."

"That actually sounds rather nice, minus the stealing part of course."

The spirit snorted "You are far too nice, Host." He grumbled.

"Why are you so obsessed with them, anyway?" Bakura asked "I mean, Yugi is my friend and-"

"Your friend!" Bakura snorted "You really think that?"

"Of course I do!"

"We'll see." The spirit grumbled.

"What?"

"Sometimes the past repeats itself, Host."

"What are you talking about?" Bakura was curious.

"Just that the Pharaoh is a lying, treacherous snake and that anyone who sticks around him long enough gets caught up in his lies." The spirit growled. His face was contorted in fury.

"Yami…"

"Host, you better go." The spirit growled, obviously still upset.

"But-"

"Go."

Bakura gave the spirit a concerned look. He left.

_"Interesting."_

"What is?"

_"You care about that boy, even though you don't want to show it."_ Gorneel said. _"Admit it."_

"Never." The spirit relied.

"_You don't want him hurt, like you were hurt."_

"Go away."

* * *

"I tell you, these wizards take this game of theirs almost a seriously as Kaiba takes duels." Marik said casually as he plopped down beside Harry at the breakfast table. He ignored the glares and the occasional jeers from the Gryffindors. Only a few of them had gotten used to Marik's habit of visiting his fellow duelists at the Gryffindor table after he had finished eating, and now with the first Quidditch game coming up…

Although Harry had to admit that Marik was not as mean as the other Slytherins were being at this particular time. The nearness of the match had caused many Slytherins to remember their old rivalry with Gryffindor. While it was not as bad at is had been in the previous years, there was still a far amount of nastiness between the two groups, particularly amongst Malfoy's followers. Marik had decided to remain aloof from the rivalry, mainly because to him the sport was about having fun. He had had enough obsessive aggressive stuff during Battle City, so he was determined to treat this game lightly.

The fact that he was afraid of certain feelings resurging themselves might have had something to do with that as well. Today it might start with taunting and curses, tomorrow it might end with mind slaves and Shadow Games.

However, Marik's attitude did not stop the Gryffindors from being suspicious of him, except for Fred and George. The twins had identified him as a good guy, and were not holding the fact that he was a Slytherin against him.

"I want you guys to listen to this next song. I think it'll get a good laugh." Marik grinned and handed the two of them a device and a pair of small headphones. The group had been changing songs every week for Umbridge's class. Although the last one was not a song, it was a recording of someone reciting George Orwell's 1984. Actually it was only the slogans of the party that were blurted out: "war is peace", "freedom is slavery" and "ignorance is strength", along with the phrase "Big Brother is watching you." Not many of the wizards understood the reference, so copies of the book somehow managed to slip their way into various common rooms.

The Ravenclaws loved it, for some reason. It was their first encounter with intelligent Muggle work, and many were loudly wondering how they could find other interesting Muggle reads. A booklist appeared afterwards.

After that an Educational Degree appeared about "subversive Muggle literature". Of course, the day afterwards found the degree with the words "Beware the Thought Police" scribbled in permanent marker. Someone also sent Umbrige a statue of a foot on the face of a man wearing a wizard hat, a version of a Big Brother Award.

The message was very clear, but Umbridge choose to ignore it.

Fred and George each took a listen to Marik's latest find. They grinned like a pair of Cheshire cats.

"This'll work." Fred said.

"What is it?" Harry asked.

"Wait till next week." George said "Let's just say it won't require background reading to get."

"That's good. I didn't get that book at all." Ron commented. He had tried to read 1984 to find out what all the fuss was about, but did not really understand it.

Hermione, who had not only gotten it but had read it three times, shook her head.

"Are you okay, Ron?" Marik asked. The other boy was looking very pale.

"Aren't you even in the least bit nervous?" It's the first game today." Ron said with a twitch.

"Naw, win or lose I don't care. Jeremy on the other hand," Marik shrugged "You would think that his life rides on this game. Well, I better go before he has a fit of some sort. Good luck." Marik said. He started heading towards the Slytherin locker room.

* * *

In the Slytherin locker room, Marik was looking over his new broomstick, a Firebolt like the one Harry had. He had determined that, seeing as how his family had a lot of gold, being Tombkeepers, he might as well use it.

The fact that it was also mainly Ishizu's money did not stop him at all.

Marik glanced over at his 'teammates'. For some reason most of them looked like they had been spawned by gorillas. All that inbreeding, no doubt.

"Okay, people, it's almost time." Jeremy glared at his team, looking really pissed about something. "Here's the plan: from what we have seen of Gryffindor's new Keeper he's not that much of a player at all. However, Potter has practically single handedly beat us on every turn." Jeremy's eyes narrowed at this "So, are goal is to draw this game out as long as we can. If we score enough points we'll win when Potter gets the Snitch."

"IF he gets the Snitch!" Malfoy's face was red "I can get it before he-"

"Malfoy, when have you EVER gotten the Snitch?" Jeremy asked. "We can't relay on your poor abilities."

Malfoy's face went from red to white.

"And Malfoy, if you lose this game for us again…" Jeremy glared at Malfoy for a long moment. Malfoy looked like he wanted to kill the other boy."Let's go." Jeremy picked up his broom.

Marik had to say he was impressed with the turnout. Students filled the bleachers, and to him it looked almost like a duelist tournament.

"All we need is a blimp." He said.

"A what?" Malfoy gave him a bewildered look.

"Nothing…hey come here, I wanna stab you with this." Marik produced his knife. Malfoy backed away from his unstable teammate.

"Bakura let me do it, coward!" Marik grinned at Malfoy.

Up in the stands, Yugi noticed the appearance of the sharp pointy object.

/We need to do something about that knife fetish of his…/ Yami muttered.

/Oh yes./ Yugi replied.

"Captains, shake hands." Madam Hooch said. Both team captains exchanged mutual glares as well as handshakes. The whistle was blown, and they were off.

Marik felt a thrill as he launched himself into the air. This was going to be fun.

Marik sped after Angelina, who had the Quaffle, bussing around her like a little bee. Suddenly she was hit in the back by a Bludger and Marik swooped and caught it. He ducked the second Bludger, courtesy of George, and passed it to Jeremy, who headed straight for the goal. He was attacked on both sides by the other two Gryffindor Chasers.

Marik lunged for the dropped ball and once again caught it. Performing one of his aerial wheelies he avoided the Gryffindors and sped towards Ron's goal. He tried to grin in a friendly manner at the poor kid (he just looked so nervous), but it might have ended up more like a smirk…

In any case, he scored.

It was about that time that Marik heard…singing?

Weasley cannot save a thing

He cannot block a single ring,

That's why Slytherins all sing:

Weasley is our king

Marik had to admit in terms of psychological warfare it was not that bad, but when he looked up and saw Harry's infuriated face, he had feeling that this was going to backfire.

"Jeremy! You have to get them to shut up!" He bellowed.

"What? Why?"

"Look at Harry! They're making him desperate to catch the Snitch!" Marik said.

Jeremy's eyes widened. He then uttered something very rude starting with the letter f.

"Shut up you morons! You-" Marik started shouted, but at that moment he was hit by both Bludgers. One had come from George, who was merely doing what he had to do as a Beater.

The other came from Goyle, who was trying to shut Marik up.

Something in Marik's mind stirred.

/Kill, kill, kill, kill them all. The Pharaoh, the Tomb Robber. Kill them, kill them./

/Urg NO NO NO!/

Marik leaned over on his broom, fighting down his yami. He could feel him slithering in his head. Marik beat it down with all of his will. Slowly the voice left, and he was himself again.

Somehow he had ended up back on the ground. Marik looked up and saw Harry holding the Snitch. So they had lost. The scene in front of him also included a bitter Malfoy taunted Harry, George and Fred.

He walked over to the scene just as Malfoy made a crack about Harry's dead mother. Marik stared as Harry lunged at Malfoy and stared pummeling him. Marik was unsure of what to do: join in the pummeling, stop Harry or stare. In the end the decision was ripped from him when several teachers blasted the little dog pile into submission.

* * *

"MALFOY DO EVER LISTEN TO A WORD THAT IS SPOKEN TO YOU!" Jeremy bellowed in Malfoy's face. It was some time later in the locker room, and Jeremy was on a rampage. "Because of your stupid little prank we lost AGAIN!"

"You-"

"I am SICK of you losing all of our games! You are OUT!"

"Out?"

"OUT! OFF THE TEAM! YOU WILL NOT LOSE ANOTHER GAME FOR US, YOU TALENTLESS PIECE OF ((the following words are censored for your humble narrator's sanity))."

Malfoy glared at Jeremy "You will regret this. I swear you will." He said in a deadly tone.

Marik sighed and walked out of the locker room, desperate to talk to Yugi and Bakura. He had to tell them about what happed up there.

He never wanted his yami to return, ever.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Schizophrenia

Marik rushed up to the Gryffindor common room and started pounding on the wall frantically.

"You again." The Fat Lady said irritably, Marik ignored her.

"COME ON TOMB ROBBER!" Marik bellowed.

"Oh, it's you." A familiar voice said from behind him.

"What the-Ron!" Marik turned to look at a half-frozen Ron. "What did you do, swim in the lake?" he asked.

"You want to talk to your friends?" Ron said dully.

Marik squinted at Ron "What is up with you? Your team won!"

Ron glared at Marik "You heard what your housemates were singing."

"Yeah, so? You're going to let the Bubbas rule your life?"

"The…Bubbas?"

"You know, what you call an inbreed hick in America. Bubba?" Marik said.

Ron just stared dully.

Marik rolled his eyes. "Look Ron, you shouldn't listen to idiots like Malfoy and the Voldemort Youth. What you should be doing is getting better so you can shove those lyrics down their throats at a later date…or fill their food with ants, whatever you prefer."

Ron gave a depressed sigh.

"Will it help you to know that Malfoy is off the team?"

Ron looked up at Marik "What?"

"Jeremy just threw him off." Marik grinned.

"Did he-"

"Personally I think he was just disgusted with Malfoy. He was looking for an excuse to do it. He also called him a…"

Marik proceeded to tell Ron exactly what had happened in the locker room. While Marik did not think it helped that much, Ron at least looked a bit less depressed.

"You bellowed, Marik?" Bakura's head emerged from behind the Fat Lady's portrait.

"Oh! Yeah!" Marik suddenly remembered his panic from before "Come here, Tomb Robber." Marik shoved Bakura into the Common Room and stated pushing him towards Bakura's and Yugi's dorm. "Got to talk, right now." He nodded at Harry and Hermione as he passed.

"What are they up to now?" Hermione said with narrowed eyes.

"I don't know." Harry said "Marik was acting a little odd up there…let's grab some Extendable Ears and take a listen in."

After finding their little spying devices and one invisibility cloak, the three of them huddled on the staircase and sent the ears out.

"I felt him inside me again. I don't like it Bakura!"

Harry gulped. Was Marik getting cold feet about their supposed assassination mission? Were they talking about Voldemort?

"Harry and the others are getting really suspicious about us. If they keep poking around he might…you know. You saw what he is like."

"You won't, you aren't leaving are you Marik?" Bakura asked in a shocked tone.

"What can I do! What would you do!" Marik was practically shouting.

"Keep it down you two!" Yugi said.

"This is it…we'll know the truth soon." Hermione said "We'll see if they are Voldemort's henchmen or…

"Yugi you know what my yami is like!" Marik said "You saw him at Battle City! What if this becomes a repeat of that!"

"We won't let it, Marik." Bakura said stubbornly. "Yugi has beaten your darker half as well as mine! It would be no different. Besides that, you beat him too. You have control…unlike me."

"But you did have some control before, didn't you, Bakura? You beat your yami twice before Battle City. But then during Battle City you had no control at all!"

"Ummm, guys…is that an ear?" said Yugi. A moment later Harry's ear was yanked through the door.

The three slammed into the ground, the cloak falling open and exposing them. The door to the room opened and Yugi, Marik and Bakura stared at the eavesdroppers.

A long silence.

"You…heard all of that…" Yugi said. It was not a question.

"Uh…yeah." Hermione said.

"Didn't anyone tell you that you can get hurt spying on people!" Yami Bakura took over and glared at Hermione.

Hermione thought quickly "It's alright, we figured it out." She said.

"Did you?" Yami Bakura growled, prepared to send them all to the Shadow Realm.

"You're not really Bakura, you are his other personality." Hermione said.

"Grrrr." Yami Bakura was just about to strike when-

"DON'T!" Yugi grabbed his arm.

"We figured out that Bakura is schizophrenic." Hermione said "It's alright, we don't care!"

"…what…?" Marik looked from Hermione to Bakura.

"Well…with what you said that day about voices in your head…and how agitated you got when Malfoy said those things in Care of Magical Creatures…and to be honest their have been times you have not acted like yourself…"

"You barely know me, how do you presume to know how I react?" Yami Bakura growled.

"I can tell, you are not the Bakura we know, are you?" Hermione said.

"Tomb Robber, this may be for the best." Marik said "Go along with it."

"Alright…I'll play along. So will my Host." Yami Bakura said. He turned back to Hermione "You are only partly right. Schizophrenia and dissociative identity disorder are two different things. My Host and I do NOT have schizophrenia."

"Your host?" Harry gave Yami Bakura a strange look. "You know that makes you sound like a tapeworm, right?"

Marik burst out laughing. Yami Bakura glared at him.

"He's right Tomb Robber, it does make you sound like a little bloodsucking parasite!"

"Remind me to destroy you later." Yami Bakura said. "But you better not say a word about this to anyone." He turned his glare back to Harry and company.

Harry, Ron and Hermione agreed. A bit of an awkward silence followed.

Hermione casually looked out the window and jumped a little bit "Hey, there are lights out in Hagrid's house! He must be back!"

"Really?" Harry leaned out the window then gave a little whoop. "Talk to you guys later." The three wizards then rushed out the door.

"…that was odd." Marik grumbled. "Who is Hagrid?"

Bakura and Yugi shrugged.

* * *

Yami Bakura was certain that the three wizards were going to spill the beans on him and his host, but that did not happen. What did happen was the appearance of a rather large individual at the teacher's table.

"Who is that?" Yugi asked nervously.

"That's Hagrid." Fred grinned "He's finally back."

"Who is he?" Bakura asked his eyes wide.

"He's the gameskeeper and the normal Care of Magical Creature's teacher. He's great. Likes monsters a lot though."

"Hello all" Marik plopped down with a grin. "I thought you would like to know that we found a new Seeker."

"That fast?" Fred stared at Marik "Who is it?"

"Kaiba." Marik said, his grin growing wider.

"How did you get Kaiba to agree to that?" Bakura blinked.

"Simple, I told him with Harry gone Yugi is the new Seeker, and we all know how much Kaiba likes to try to beat Yugi." Marik said. "Now all I have to do is convince you, Bakura."

"No." Bakura growled.

Marik grinned; he would make Bakura come around…eventually.

"Wait," Fred asked "I thought he couldn't ride a broom!"

Marik's grin grew wider "Who said he was going to use a broom?"

* * *

Later at Care of Magical Creatures, the duelists got to see Hagrid up close. Yugi was a bit scared, after all he was already half the size of a normal teenager. Add that to the fact that Hagrid was covered with bruises and had a dead cow slung over his shoulder…

"Hey Bakura…Bakura?" Yugi turned to Bakura, who was not there. It was Yami Bakura, and for some reason he was staring at the Forbidden Forest with an odd expression on his face.

/Yami?/ Bakura said /Are you all right?/

/I have been here before…/ the spirit thought. /I did not recognize it at first…but this IS the forest…/

/What are you talking about?/

Yami Bakura seemed lost in thought as he wandered with the rest of the class into the forest.

Then they emerged, they looked like long, thin black horses with dragon like heads and tattered wings. To Bakura, they looked like fiend monsters, but to his yami they looked very very familiar.

/Thestrals my Host…thestrals/ Yami Bakura said. His eyes locked with the strange creature's, and for the second time this semester Yami Bakura heard a foreign voice in his head, only this time the normal Bakura could hear as well.

/Is it you…are you truly back?/ the voice said.

/I am indeed. I am the one who was once known as the Theif King./ Yami Bakura replied.

/That was ages ago, before I was hatched./ the thestral replied.

/True, but I am back in this boy's body. I did not expect to meet any of the Elder Breed here…/ Yami Bakura replied.

/Truly, there are many of us here. We of the thestral race share this forest with the giant spiderkind, the unicorn and the centaur. The lake is filled with merpeople and their ilk./

/But why do act as if you are beasts in front of these mere mortals?/ Yami Bakura asked /the thestrals I knew where creatures of war and honor. Why skulk in the shadows now?/

/I am not permitted to speak of such things./ the thestral went back to savaging the cow corpse /Perhaps you could meet with our elders later?/

/Tonight, warrior, I will come tonight./

/I will tell them of your coming/


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

A Meeting with the Thestrals

/Bakura, how do you know these thestral creatures?/ Bakura asked as his yami guided them through the forest to their meeting with the thestrals.

/My old master, the Thief King before me, was a great friend of the Elder Breed./ Yami Bakura replied /He took our Band around the world, stealing things. The Elder Breed would help us in return for favors and some of the profit. The Elder Breed were never good friends of mortal humans, and would do all they can to inconvenience them. So they would often befriend rouges and thieves./

/What are the Elder Breed?/

/They are the creatures neither animal nor Shadow Beast nor mortal human. Giants, dragons, thestrals, flying horses, merfolk, all and more are members of the Elder Breed./

/So…are those bowtrunkle things of the Elder Breed?/ Bakura asked.

/No, all members of the Elder Breed can talk. That is the main distinction. Whether or not they choose to talk…that is another thing all together. Also, most members of the Elder Breed are somehow resistant to all forms of magic, even Shadow Magic. There are even some animals, like snakes and cats, that have Elder Breed roots./ Yami Bakura explained. /The Elder Breed were building civilizations in this world while humans were still figuring out how to sharpen a branch into a spear./

/So, why are the thestrals acting like just animals?/

/That is what I am going to discover, Host./ Yami Bakura's eyes narrowed. /Now be quite I hear hoofbe-oh no!/

The things that rode out towards them from the darkness were not thestrals, but centaurs. And they looked pretty upset.

/Centaurs, Host. Always best to be polite to them./ the yami said.

"What are you doing here, human!" one of them aimed an arrow at Yami Bakura's chest. The real Bakura groaned.

"Greetings, Stargazer." Yami Bakura bowed to the centaur. His tone even lacked the usual arrogance that usually saturated it. "I am the former Thief King Bakura reborn in this mortal vessel. It is truly a pleasure to see your kind again."

"The last Thief King died ages ago! How dare you lie and dishonor his memory!" The centaur bellowed.

/I thought that centaurs did not attack hatchlings./ the same thestral that had spoken to that morning trotted through the trees. /I was expecting you, Thief King./

"You believe this foal?" the centaur asked.

/I do, and I come to take him to our elders. Stand down and let us pass please./

"Fine," the centaur lowered his bow "But know that our kind will not have anything more to do with humans." The centaurs turned and galloped off. One however, turned and gave Bakura a considering look before following his fellows.

/Follow me, Thief King./ the thestral said.

"Of course, may I ask your name?" Yami Bakura asked.

/Hagrid refers to me as Tenebrus./ the thestral said.

"I asked for your name, not what the wizards call you." Yami said.

/Darknight./ the thestral said.

"I am honored to meet you, warrior Darknight." Said Yami Bakura.

/I am not worthy of the title 'warrior'/ Darknight said /I have never gone to war, not even when Lord Voldemort was in power./

Yami Bakura was silent until they came to a clearing. Five elderly thestrals stood in a semicircle around them.

/Is this the one who claims to be Thief King Bakura?/ one of the elders asked.

/He is, great elder./ Darknight said.

/Come forward, human./ another elder, this one a female, said.

Yami Bakura stepped forwards. He bowed and said "I am indeed the spirit of the Thief King, though this body is not mine. It belongs to a boy named Ryo Bakura of Japan, and I reside in the legendary Millennium Ring that he wears."

/Is this possible?/ Another elder asked.

/I can see the Ring from here, and it is indeed the one told of in legends past./ the female elder said. /It is clearly the Millennium Ring, but I would ask of further proof from you, human./

Yami Bakura smiled. He extended his arms and revealed the Claws of the Thief King. The thestrals jerked back as one.

/The Claws…the Claws of the Thief King./ the female said /Only their original owner or one of his blood can use them…you are truly the Thief King Bakura./ the thestral bowed her front legs and dipped her wings in what was obviously a bow. /Welcome back, Thief King./

"Thank you, honorable elder." Yami Bakura said. " I do have a question for you. Why does your kind allow themselves to be treated as animals by the humans?"

/The Shadow Magic had fled, and with it the last source of the Elder Breed's power. We knew from experience that humans do not easily share their planet with other sentient beings. A few of us act as animals in order to protect ourselves, dragons, unicorns, other flying horses…there are many who use this defense in order to survive. It has worked, don't you see? They preserve our kind, while they try to exploit others such as goblins and elves…/ the elder bowed her head. /It is a shameful way to live, but it is the only way that we can live./

"It is intolerable, it is worse than it was years ago when I lived." Yami Bakura growled "There must be a way to change this!"

/Unless we find a way to regain the Shadow Powers we once had, or until the humans learn to live with other creatures…there is no other way, Thief King./ the elder said. /The actions and beliefs of the human Dumbledore gives us some hope, but with the return of the human Tom Riddle.../

"Tom Riddle?"

/The true name of Lord Voldemort is Tom Riddle./ said the thestral.

"Hmmm," Yami Bakura thought for a long time.

/Know, Thief King, that our kind still owes you a debt of great gratitude./ another elder said /Should you ever need any aid, ask us and we will help. Furthermore we will inform others of the Elder Breed of your return./

"Thank you honorable elder." Yami Bakura said "I look forward to fighting alongside you again in the future, great one."

/As do I, old friend./ the female thestral said.

/You knew that thestral?/ Bakura asked as they walked away /But that was-/

/Thestrals live long lives, my Host. I indeed knew Thorntooth from long ago when she was barely a hatchling. She liked playing with the edges of my cloak, as I recall./

Bakura laughed at the thought.

* * *

"And what were you doing out so late, Thief?" Yami asked as Bakura entered the room.

"None of you business." The spirit growled.

"Tell me!" the pharaoh stood up and glared "I want to know why you keep skulking around!"

"It is none of your business, you noisy little brat!" The spirit repeated.

"You are up to no good as usual, and I want to know what it is you are planning now!"

Yami Bakura glared at the other dark spirit and snarled "I have behaved myself so far, Pharaoh scum, but keep trying my patience and I won't be so nice for much longer."

"You've attacked me and my friends three times in the past-"

"Attack your friends! You stuck up brat! Listen to me, Pharaoh, I may have attacked them, but it is no more than you deserve you murderer!"

"What are you talking about?"

The former thief stared at the Pharaoh in disbelief. "You really don't remember? Then let me enlighten you! You murdered my brother, Gorneel. And then you executed my wife! You know what else, oh mighty Pharaoh? My wife was pregnant!! I never even got to know if we where to have a son or a daughter when you ripped all three of them from my life! That's why I hate you! That is why I want you dead! Not to mention the fact that your father destroyed my entire village when I was just a boy." Yami Bakura scowled "But hey, like father like son, right?" With that Yami Bakura stomped over to his bed and threw the curtain around it.

/No…it can't be true…he's lying…/ Yami thought /I could never have done that…/

* * *

Marik practically bounced to the Slytherin Quidditch practice, eager to see the looks on the wizard's faces when Kaiba brought out his new toy. Kaiba himself followed his fellow duelist with much less enthusiasm. The CEO had with him a large heavy looking briefcase.

"He doesn't even have a broom!" Jeremy stared at Marik "Is this a joke?"

"No." Kaiba growled "It's time to introduce you cavemen to something modern. I just finished fine tuning it." Actually it had been made at Kaibacorp, but Kaiba had added a few things to the design. He opened the case and emerged with something…very interesting.

It was long and basically shaped like a broom. Only instead of twigs at the end it had a pair of small rockets. In the front it had what looked like radar and a pair of bike handles sticking out from the sides. Lower down it had a pair of what looked strangely like wings where you could put your feet. All in all it looked like the spawn of a motorcycle and a broom.

It was also blue. And the front part looked suspiciously like the head of a Blue Eyes White Dragon.

"Meet the Hoverbroom 3000, my latest invention." Kaiba said with a smirk. "Just in time for Christmas as well…"

"I call it the Blue Eyes White Broom." Marik said.

"After I make sure there are no bugs I'll be ready to mass produce them." Kaiba continued.

"Wait…you plan on selling these to wizards?" Jeremy asked.

"No, I plan to sell them to anyone who will pay the pricetag for them, wizard or otherwise." Kaiba said.

"Yeah…but can you get the Snitch with that thing?" Jeremy said, not really caring about the selling points in favor of the thing's performance on the field.

Kaiba smirked again "Let's find out."


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Beware the Yellow Snow

As it turned out the "Blue Eyes White Broom" worked rather well on its maiden flight. Granted it did make a rather loud bang and quite a bit of smelly smoke when it was launched, and it would a shake a bit if left at high speeds for too long, but other than that it was fair competition for even the fastest of brooms.

"Now, all I have to do is convince Bakura to join the Gryffindor team." Marik grinned at the end of practice "You want to help me, Kaiba?"

"No, I am going to see if I can get rid of that shake." Kaiba growled and took his new invention up to his room to tinker with it.

Marik groaned. He had to wonder if Kaiba would even drop that grouchy man act of his…

Marik shook his head, he was concentrating his attention on Bakura now, not Kaiba. Marik could tell that the evil spirit was becoming more and more tense as the days went by. Whether this was from not being able to send annoying people to the Shadow Realm or too much contact with the Pharaoh Marik was not sure, but he could tell that something was bothering the spirit. He knew very well that the spirit would not open up to him, so Marik was trying to get the spirit to relax a bit.

Why in the world he felt so strongly about this he did not really know. For some reason he felt an urge to help both Bakuras, but he did not know where this urge originated. Maybe he was getting soft…

In any case, he thought that a nice little extracurricular activity to focus on might help the tense spirit relax. He grinned as he began his search for the spirit.

Something started falling from the sky, a white cold fluffy something.

Marik grinned up into the air. It was snowing.

That gave him an idea.

* * *

"Okay! If I try out for the Beater thing will you please leave me alone?" Bakura finally caved in after a good ten hours of Marik's nagging. He had even followed Bakura to his weekly tutoring session with Luna. The two of them, Luna and Bakura, had been doing this almost every Saturday afternoon (one of the other reasons that Bakura was doing so well in catching up was the fact that he actually had some help). Though Luna had a tendency to talk at length about mythological wizard creatures half of the time they were there. Perhaps it was Bakura was the first person to actually take her seriously, after being a pair of dice once in his life Bakura was willing to think of anything as "possible", but the two of them had become friends.

Personally Marik did not understand it. For one thing he found Luna's sometimes far away gaze as slightly creepy…

"Okay, now that I finally have gotten you to agree…how would you like to play a joke on a certain inbreed freak?"

Bakura gave Marik a wary look. "What is going through that head of yours now?"

"Well, have you noticed how much it is snowing out there?"

"Yes."

"Should become nice and deep by tomorrow."

"Yes…"

"Are you familiar with yellow snow, Bakura?"

Bakura just stared at Marik.

* * *

Marik put the finishing touches on the last snowball. He carefully bobbed the icy ball into a small glass filled with a certain yellow substance until it was completely coated.

"How in the world did you come up with dipping them in yellow food dye, Marik?" Bakura dared to ask.

"I have my ways." Marik grinned. He peeked over the little snow barricade the two of them had piled up beside the front gates of the school. He looked to make sure Fred and George were okay across from them on the other side of another snowdrift. The twins peeked over at Marik, identical evil grins on their faces. Fred gave Marik a thumbs up.

"You ready, Bakura?" Marik asked.

"Yep" Bakura said.

"Good."

At that moment Malfoy walked out of the castle.

"ATTACK!" Marik bellowed and lobbed a yellow snowball right at Malfoy's face. It hit square on.

A look of horror crossed the boy's face as he realized what was dribbling down onto his winter cloak.

More projectiles came his way, each a lovely yellow in color. Malfoy desperately ran for cover screaming something about filthy Mudbloods.

Marik and twins nearly died laughing, and for once in his life even Bakura could not keep up a calm face.

"Now that is what I call mature." Yami said sarcastically as he walked up to them. He had seen the entire assault, and while he didn't like Malfoy either he tried to be a bit more adult about it then Bakura and Marik were being.

"Oh come on your Majesty, when was the last time you had some fun in the snow?" Marik said.

"Never." Yami replied.

"Well then it is time you had some!" Marik grinned and assaulted Yami with two snowballs (the white kind) at once. Taking their cue Fred, George and Bakura began an attack as well.

Yami decided to beat a hasty retreat.

Marik gave a leap and landed on the fleeing Pharaoh's back. His hand came across something heavy, and Marik grinned as he pulled out the Millennium necklace.

"Looky what I found!" he said, and then he was the one running with an angry Yami on his tail. The other three gave chase as well, each one laughing their heads off.

The laughter stopped abruptly when Marik made the grave mistake of running off onto the icy surface of the lake. He had never really come across icy lakes before, and could not tell thin ice from thick ice.

And the ice was very thin.

Marik had only a second to realize what was going on before the ice cracked beneath his feet and he plunged into the water.

"MARIK!" Yami bellowed. He was nearly trampled by someone with white hair. Yami had just enough time to resister the fact that it was Yami Bakura before the other spirit dove into the lake after Marik.

/Yami, where is he?/ Bakura asked the dark spirit as he started swimming /I can't see him!/

Yami Bakura growled because he could not see the idiot either. He could feel the dang robes dragging him down. He pulled out his knife and cut them from his body. He was going to get cold anyway, and the robes would only slow him down.

He concentrated on the Ring and the pointers obeyed and stuck out to the left of him and down. As fast as he could he dove and swam even further into the icy waters.

A dark shape came into view, and after a bit Bakura could see that it was Marik. He was floating lifelessly near the bottom, eyes closed and not moving. The spirit grabbed the young moron's hand and started pulling him towards the surface. Unfortunately Yami Bakura's head hit ice instead of breaking the surface. By a bad twist of fate this ice was actually harder then the part Marik had fallen through. Yami Bakura hacked with his knife, but he could feel the body he inhabited and shared weakening and getting slower.

The sharp edge of a duel disk slammed through the ice from above and a hand grabbed Yami Bakura by the hair. His head was so numb at this point that it did not even hurt. The two of them were pulled out of the water through the new hole. Bakrua was shocked to see the stern gaze of a certain moody CEO that had just saved both his, his host's and Marik's life. They were flung onto the bank like a pair of fish and Yami Bakura wheezed for air.

It took him a second to realize that Marik was not breathing.

"You idiot!" Yami Bakura bellowed, "What is wrong with you!" the dark spirit started punching Marik in the stomach, hoping that this would somehow wake his…friend.

/Yami! Breath into his mouth!/ Bakura advised.

/Like in those dorky movies?/ The yami did not believe in what he saw on that magic screen, but he did not argue. He did not even have time to contemplate the oddness of what he was about to do, he just did it. He pinched Marik's nose and started breathing into his mouth. When it did not bring any coughing as it had in the films the yami screamed something in Egyptian and struck Marik in the stomach. Hard.

That did the trick. Marik spewed lake water and started coughing. For a second a look of joy crossed the usually moody yami's face, but was then replaced by a look of rage.

"What were you thinking? Are you a complete and utter moron! Did someone forget to give you brains in your mother's womb…" It went on and on from there while Marik just stared up at the dripping wet thief wondering what in the world happened.

Yami Bakura was interrupted from the monologue by a fit of hacking.

"You two. Hospital wing. Now." Yami was not taking no for an answer. He started dragging the other two to the hospital wing, muttering to himself.

* * *

After a nice dose of potion that warmed the soaked pair from the inside out and a few other things to prevent pneumonia and hypothermia, Marik and Bakura where feeling a bit better. Though the dark spirit was still a little pissed at Marik for acting like a fool and nearly getting himself killed.

"If you ever do something like that I will kill you myself!" The spirit finished.

A long pause from Marik. Truth be told he had not said a word in all that time. He just stared at the cup of potion he had been given as if thinking hard. Finally he muttered. "Thanks."

The word was so quite it was almost inaudible, but the thief's ears had caught it. "Just make sure it does not happen again. I don't want to play lifeguard for you ever again. People might get ideas."

"Hopefully you both will act a bit more mature from now on." Yami growled, sounding for all the world like a disgruntled parent "Now if you will please give me back that Item, Marik."

Marik hung his head. "I…lost it." He said into his cup.

Yami stared "What?"

"I let go of it when I passed out…I don't know where it floated…it's at the bottom of the lake now…"

Yami Bakura made a strange sound, it sounded like he was trying to snort, but he also sneezed at the same time "No problem. We just wait from spring then fish it out. No one is going into that lake for a while, and no one knows what it is anyway. It should be safe down there."

"For once you have a point." Yami said. He did not like the idea of leaving an Item out in the open like that, but he did not want Marik to start blaming himself and getting upset. After all, the Egyptian hadn't meant to lose the Necklace like that.

/Besides that, he was trying to help you a bit, Yami./ Yugi pointed out.

/Huh?/

/He was trying to get you to lighten up and have fun./ Yugi said /Frankly I think he was right. You do need to loosen up a bit. You've almost forgotten how to have fun, Yami./

/Hmmm./ Yami grunted.

/Yami…there is something I want to talk to you about. It's about the spirit of the Ring./

/What about him?/

/Well, have you noticed? How different he is started to act. I mean, he just saved Marik's life! And there were no ulterior motives, he just did it./

/Okay…maybe he is changing for the best…and?/

/I think you should let up on him a bit, Yami. He's changing, even though he does not want to admit it. Maybe if we give him a chance, he and Bakura could end up just like the two of us: friends./

/I don't know…/

/Yami, just try./ Yugi pleaded.

/I will try, Yugi./

"By the way, why in the world were you there with a duel disk, Kaiba?"

"Hmp, I have figured out how to make them work here." Kaiba said with a smirk.

"Really! So we can play with the disks again!" Marik looked thrilled.

"Yes. I had actually come down to propose something to you three, before you all took a dip into the freezing water that is." Kaiba said.

"What proposal."

"We." Kaiba swept the room with his eyes. "Are not only all duelists, but now that Marik has convinced Bakura to join the Gryffindor team we also have this broom game in common." Kaiba started pacing around "I propose a Duel Monsters promotion at the next Quidditch game. We have a four way duel between the three of us. Battle City rules save for ante rule. No Millennium Items or Shadow Realms or Take Over the World monologues or even title changes…unless I win."

"But the next match is Slytherin vs Ravenclaw, why not do it during a game between out two Houses?" Marik asked.

"Because I can't wait that long." Kaiba growled. "I want to duel as soon as possible. We can call it a pre game show or something like that. We get Dumbledore's permission and I won't have to listen to that Umbridge pig squeal. I don't know about you, but I am running out of painkillers for that voice of hers."

Yami Bakura grinned "That actually sounds…fun." He said.

Yami grinned "Let's do it."

The four of them discussed the duel plans until Kaiba and Yugi were shooed out for the night.

It was going to be an…interesting duel…


	23. Chapter 23

An Author's Note: This is my first time writing a duel. I don't know how this will turn out. Also, there might be some rule and card power bending in order to fit with what I have planned. But it will be no more than what the writers did during the show, so…

Also, there will be cards in decks that might not have been there in the show…hey they have to change their decks around, right?

Hope you enjoy.

* * *

Chapter 23

Duel

Dumbledore gladly gave them permission to duel right before the next Quidditch game. No had even thought for a moment that he might disagree, in fact he seemed excited himself. However, they did run into a bit of a snag when it came to Umbridge. She did not want the game played, even though the three duelists kept claiming that it was just a harmless game. In the end it took Kaiba asking if the Ministry was afraid of little patterns of light that got Umbridge to give up.

The next week leading up the match was filled with the four duelists ordering boosters from Yugi's Grandfather's store like crazy (except for Kaiba, he just had a few briefcases sent via owl….poor owl) and switching monsters around like crazy. Even though this duel had no stakes or strings attached, magical or otherwise, each duelist was doing his best to make sure he was ready.

Most of the wizard born in the school were extremely puzzled at how seriously the duelists were taking this event. It seemed like they cared more about this game than they did Quidditch (and that was indeed the case). While Yugi, Marik and Bakura tried their best to explain the rules, most people became lost after the fifth word. The only one that seemed to understand in the least was Ron. As a dedicated chess player he had a good grasp of tactical games, and while he did not completely comprehend the nuances of Duel Monsters, he got the basic idea.

Those Muggle born who actually had seen events like Duelist Kingdom and Battle City on TV. and had read about Duel Monsters in magazines where almost as excited as the duelists. They had never seen a holographic duel live and in person before (the game had never really caught on in Britain as it had in Japan and in America) but they were eager to see this.

The Slytherins under Malfoy, however, were very contemptuous. They did not see any value in Muggle things, and card games were no exception.

* * *

Finally the day of the Quidditch match/duel had arrived. The entire school had arrived, most of them curious to see this new muggle thing. Even the Slytherin purebloods had arrived, most of them determined to mock the duelists.

The four duelists where standing in a kind of diamond shape on the field, each one mentally sizing each other up.

/We know Kaiba's strategy almost as well as our own./ Yugi said to Yami. /And Marik's deck is familiar as well./

/True, it is Yami Bakura's new deck that has me worried. We have yet to see it in action. Knowing him, it will be tricky and probably full of fiends of some sort…/ Yami said.

/Remember, this is a friendly game, not a take over the world-/ Bakura began, but his yami cut him off.

/I know, I know, I won't kill anyone. I've said this twenty times already./

/I know what you said…/ Bakura trailed off.

_Don't go insane, don't go insane, don't go insane._ Marik mentally repeated in his head.

_Marik_ _and Bakura will be easy enough to defeat, only Yugi is the real challenge here._ Kaiba thought. _Anyway, that is not the point, this is about more than a duel, this is about showing the superiority of the real world to these fools!_

With that thought Kaiba used a spell to amplify his voice, an ironic move. He was aware of this irony, but he did not dwell on it. It was necessary.

"Attention! What you are about to witness here is the success and power of technological achievement! Not only will you get to see a rare duel between the greatest duelists in the world, and by that I mean me and Yugi-"

"Stuck up, dragon obsessed jackass…" Marik muttered.

"But you will also now see some of the most advanced technology we have. I am speaking, of course, of the duel disk.

Know, now, that we are not doing this for the glory of our houses. This will be a battle that transcends such things. We fight for ourselves and no one else."

"Will you hurry it up?" Bakura shouted "I'm can feel myself ageing here!"

Kaiba smirked "That eager to go down, huh?"

"We'll see who goes down. I swear to you now I will last longer in this duel than you!" Bakura shouted.

"Enough, let's duel!" Yami could no longer control himself. He activated his duel disk, eager to start the fight. Like a wolf challenged to battle, Kaiba activated his own disk with a cocky look. Marik and Bakura were soon to follow.

The four of them had already determined the order in which they would go, and Yami Yugi was up first. He drew and grinned.

/Dark Magician on the first draw! Heart of the Cards is with us today, right partner?/ Yami said.

/Yeah!/ Yugi said with enthusiasm.

/But for now…/

"I summon Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts in attack mode!" Yami's monster appeared on the field and gave a mighty roar. A collective gasp came for the crowd.

"Wow! Look at that!" Harry's eyes were wide "I've heard of this before, but it's even cooler in person!"

"Yeah, it's so lifelike!" Hermione was in awe.

"One card facedown and end turn." Yami declared. "Kaiba?"

"Hmp, you still bother with weak monsters, Yugi? Fine then." Kaiba drew. _Hmmm, Blue Eyes right at the start…that's good._

"I summon Vorse Raider in attack mode!" Kaiba bellowed. Wizards gave shouts of awe from the stand. "Now go Marik."

"Hmmm." Marik grinned "I play Pot of Greed and draw two cards." Marik's grin grew wider when he saw what he had drawn. "I summon Granadora." The audience gasped again at the strange, wormlike creature that had appeared. "For those of you who don't know" Marik smirked in Malfoy's general direction "this monster boosts my life points by 1000 whenever it is summoned. Now I end my turn."

"Finally." Bakura grunted. He drew and grunted again.

/That is-/

/Felgrand Dragon, I know./ the spirit said in a moody tone.

"I place two cards facedown," The traps, for that was what they had to be, appeared "And one monster in facedown defense mode."

The noise from the crowd was now a gigantic and universal "Huh?"

"What in the world is Bakura doing?" Harry asked "Doesn't he have anything good to play?"

"Actually, I think it was a very smart move…" Ron said.

"How so?"

"Well, for one thing that monster could be anything. I managed to sneak a peak at a few of them, and some of these monsters have effects when you flip them up…or when they get attacked. That monster could be one of them. Plus, Bakura is pretty much forcing Yugi's hand here."

"Huh?" Harry was confused.

"Well, he can't attack Kaiba and Marik's monsters with that lion thing, because it'll get slaughtered. His best bet for survival is attacking Bakura's monster, but like I said there could be anything under there…"

But Bakura was not quite done. "I will play a magic card, Bait Doll, on your facedown card, Yugi."

The card revealed itself as Magician's Circle. It was destroyed. Yami glared at Yami Bakura, who gave him his most insane grin.

/If you laugh I swear…/ the real Bakura groaned.

"It's your turn, you Majesty." Yami Bakura said mockingly.

Yami drew. It was a very familiar and useful card.

/Dark Curtain. We can summon the Dark Magician right here and right now!/

/True, but let's hold on that, partner. I don't like the looks of that facedown of Bakura's. Better to attack it with a weaker monster than summon something powerful and have it destroyed on the turn it is summoned./ Yami reasoned.

/But what if it is a Morphing Jar?/

/That card was destroyed./

/It could be another./ Yugi pointed out.

/Risk we will have to take./

"I place another card facedown." Yami "stored" the Dark Curtain for later, just in case. "And I summon Skilled Dark Magician in attack mode. Now, Gazelle, attack that facedown monster!" The lion monster roared again and attacked head on.

Yami Bakura smirked and flipped over a trap. "Negate Attack." He growled.

Yami growled right back.

"Which, of course, leaves you right open to me, Yugi!" Kaiba bellowed. "My Vorse Raider will attack your Gazelle and destroy it!"

Yami sent the death glare Kaiba's way.

Kaiba snorted. "I place a monster facedown and end my turn…for now." Kaiba said.

Marik shot Bakura a look. The pair's eyes meet. Bakura inclined his head towards Kaiba and raised an eyebrow. Marik grinned and nodded.

"I play Makyura the Destructor. Granadora will attack your Raider, Kaiba."

"Fool, they will destroy each other!"

"No, as it attacks I play this card, Rush Recklessly, which gives it a nice boost." The Granadora glowed with white light as it sank its claws into the Vorse Raider. Kaiba's Life Points went from 4000 to 3300.

"Now Makyura will attack your facedown card." Marik snarled.

The creature attacked. A giant fuzzy ball appeared on the field.

Kaiba laughed "Meet Giant Germ, nutcase. You lose 500 Life Points. What is even better is that I get to summon another pair!" Two fuzzy balls appeared on the field.

Marik glared, but ended his turn.

Yami Bakura played a Pot of Greed and smirked again.

"Kaiba, I hope you aren't attached to those flu bugs." He grinned. "I reveal my facedown monster, the Jowls of Dark Demise, which allow me to take control of one of your monsters."

"Big deal." Kaiba yawned.

"Now that this little pest is mine, I can do whatever I want with it, including tribute summon it. I play Puppet Ritual, using a monster from my hand and your little pest to summon Psycho-Puppet."

Kaiba snorted at the creature. "What? That is the lamest little Ritual monster I have ever seen."

"Heh. I flip my last facedown card, Lightning Vortex, which destroys your last pest. Now, my Puppet attacks you." Yami Bakura's fiend snarled and struck Kaiba in the gut. Kaiba's Life Points dropped to 1300.

The audience winced. That had looked…almost real…

_How did that happen?_ Kaiba asked himself. _Wait a moment…why are Marik and Bakura looking at each other like that….of course! Those two are conspiring together! They know that neither of them can take me down alone, so they are attacking me as a pair…_

Yami had reached the same realization. He had to admit he should have seen this coming. The two former villains did have a tendency to work as a pair nowadays.

/Dark Magician! Now!/ Yugi said.

/I agree./

"I play Dark Curtain, which brings out my Dark Magician to the field." Yami announced. The mage appeared with a stern gaze. It folded its arms and stared at the field with a disproving gaze. For a brief second Yami thought he heard a voice in his mind, but he chose to ignore it.

"And now I play Magicians Unite! It brings the attack of one of my Spellcasters to 3000, and I will use it on Skilled Dark Magician." Said monster began to glow. "Now, Dark Magician, attack Bakura's puppet! Dark Magic Attack!" The mage gestured and the puppet disintegrated. "Now, Skilled Dark Magician, attack him directly!"

Yami Bakura was blown back several feet. However, he did not seem phased by this, in fact he was almost grinning as he stood up. He was now at 500 Life Points, but he seemed not to care.

_I can take the weakling now…but…_Kaiba looked at his hand. _Let's give these wizards even more of show!_ He drew a card and grinned. _I can summon two of my most powerful monsters right now!_

"I play Cost Down and summon my Blue-Eyes White Dragon!" the magnificent white beast appeared with a flap of its white wings. "The card I used to activate Cost Down was set to the Graveyard, but now I bring it back with my Monster Reborn! Come, my second Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

"Blue-Eyes, attack Marik's Makyura! White Lightning!" the great dragon's mouth opened wide as it blasted Marik's monster. His Life Points drained to 1900

"Good thing I can use its special effect now. I can activate a Trap from my hand. Gift of the Mystical Elf!" Marik's Life Points were brought up to 2200.

"Now, attack Yugi's Skilled Dark Magician, Blue-Eyes!"

Yami was startled. He did not expect to be attacked by Kaiba. He knew just as well as Kaiba that had he attacked Marik's other monster Marik would be doomed. But instead he attacked Yami, bringing his previously untouched Life Points to 2900.

Marik drew and grinned a bit. Hello life saving card!

"I play Revival Jam in defense mode! And I place a card facedown. Now I end my turn."

Bakura grinned. "I'm afraid your time is up, Kaiba. I use Change of Heart on one of your Blue Eyes White Dragons."

One dragon went to stand beside Bakura, and the other…seemed to glare in anger and roared in hatred at other.

_What the…_Kaiba stared at his remaining Blue-Eyes, which turned to look at him…was that love in its eyes?

NO! Kaiba shook his head. This was not happening! Cards do not love their owners! Heart of the Cards or no, cards did NOT LOVE THEIR OWNERS! He was hallucinating! It had to be a hallucination!

"And now I use Monster Reborn to bring out the Felgrand Dragon!" The new golden dragon appeared, and this time both Bakuras could hear the voice of Gorneel.

/Must you put me beside a Blue-Eyes?/ the dragon asked.

/Wait, aren't you supposed to have a special effect?/ Yami Bakura asked.

/I don't feel like it…/ the dragon replied.

/Oh sweet mother of Ra…/ Yami Bakura groaned.

Kaiba, meanwhile, was trying to figure out why the duel disk was not registering the Felgrand Dragon's effect.

_And they where working so well…_He thought.

"Kaiba" Yami Bakura got back down to business. "I attack your Blue-Eyes with mine." The two Blue-Eye's White Lightning attacks burst onto the field and created a small explosion.

"Now, attack Felgrand Dragon!" Yami Bakura said. He could not help but feel very pleased when his dragon blasted Kaiba off his feet.

Kaiba grunted and started walking off the field. "Just for the record, that is the last time I go easy on you people to prove a point."

"Hmp." Yami Bakura grunted, although he knew perfectly well that Kaiba had not been playing up to standard. The CEO had not really taken the duel seriously, because it was not his usual rivalry with Yami. Plus, Yami Bakura assumed that Kaiba had be half concerned with the performance of the modified duel disks. Third, Kaiba had seen this as a promotion, not an actual duel.

_It is getting so that you can't have a decent duel without threatening a soul first…_Yami Bakura thought.

It was now Yami's turn, and he was determined to take out Marik on this turn. There was something off about this entire thing. He had been getting an odd feeling ever since he played the Dark Magician, and the odd nagging would not go away. He wanted this done now.

"First I will activate Mystical Space Typhoon and destroy your facedown card, Marik."

_Oh terrific._ Marik thought _Is it just me or is something really really strange happening here. I feel something odd coming from Bakura's and Yami's monsters…It's like…an odd pressure…there is magic here….I want this duel over with and I want it over with now!_

"I now play Brain Control on your Revival Jam." Yami said.

_Yes, yes, get on with it, Pharaoh. Smite me, Oh Bigheaded one…_Marik thought.

"Dark Magician, attack!"

A voice echoed in Yami's head. It was small and almost inaudible, but it was there. /Yes, my Pharaoh…/

/Ummm, did you hear that, partner?/ Yami asked as the Dark Magician took out Marik.

/Yeah, what was that?/

/Not sure…/

Marik walked to sidelines, strangely glad that it was over. He could feel some sort of weird pressure building, and he did not like it at all.

For a few seconds Yami Yugi and Yami Bakura stared at each other across the field. Their monsters snarled and glared at each other as if they were also in a rivalry. Yami placed a card facedown and ended his turn.

Finally, Yami Bakura shouted "Felgrand Dragon, attack!"

"Activate Shadow Spell!" Yami countered. Magic chains wrapped themselves around the dragon's feet, arms and neck.

Yami Bakura froze. A vision of this same dragon, similarly chained a filled with knives and laying on the desert floor filled his mind.

Yami took his silence as a pass. "I activate Thousand Knives and destroy your Felgrand Dragon!" Yami bellowed. "And now I attack you directly!"

Yami Bakura, however, did not seem to notice. He was stunned by the fact that his dragon had been taken down in a way similar to the way Gorneel had been killed.

/Little brother, it is alright./ said Gorneel, but Yami Bakura did not listen. He walked away from the field with an odd look on his face.

/Yami…what happened?/ Yugi asked.

/I…don't know…/

* * *

Some time later Harry, Ron and Hermione went up to the Gryffindor tower a bit concerned about Yami and Bakura. Neither of them had been to the D.A. meeting even though Kaiba and Marik had been. They arrived to find the two yamis having a shouting match.

"How many times do I have to tell you? LEAVE ME ALONE!"

"I want answers now!"

"GO STICK YOUR HEAD IN A TOILET!" Yami Bakura bellowed. The furious yami turned around and stomped out of the dorm in a huff.

/Infuriating thief! I was only trying to help!/ Yami raged.

Yugi was silent. It was true that Yami had been trying to be friendly, by coming up and trying to find out why he was so out of sorts after the duel, but the spirit had not been in a talkative mode. What had started as an attempt to repair bridges had ended up in verbal fisticuffs.

Yami sighed and went to his room, leaving some dumbfounded wizards in his wake.

"Okay, this is enough." Hermione said "I am going to find out what is going on with those two."

"Okay…we'll be here behind some solid objects if you need us." Ron said. He had just seen an example of Yami Rage, and he did not want to be on the receiving end of it.

Hermione sighed at them as she walked up the stairs to talk to Yami.

Harry shrugged, deciding to go to bed.

That night he dreamed of a snake…

* * *

Meanwhile, miles away, Yami Bakura stalked around Knockturn Alley, looking enraged. He had used the shadows to teleport there. He needed some space, and he did not want to stick around the castle.

/How dare he act concerned! The hypocrite! I hate him!/

Yami Bakura was so busy being angry that he did not notice the figures following him. One of them pointed a wand cast a stunning spell. Yami Bakura heard the noise and tried to dodge, but two more similar spells slammed into him. The yami was knocked out, and but his host had just enough time to take a somewhat blurry look at their attackers.

_Black robes…masks…Death Eaters? Oh yami, what have you gotten us into now?_ He too, blacked out a moment later.

The figures started to drag the young boy away. Soon, there was no evidence that they had ever been there…

* * *

A/N: Yep, evil cliff hanger. What did you think of the duel? Was it good or bad? I know ya'll wanted to see the God Cards. Don't worry they will appear...eventually. How and when they will appear...you will have to see. 


	24. Chapter 24

A/N: Just so you know, this chapter will contain a bit of violence and a bit of blood, for obvious reasons. We all know that Death Eaters are not the cute and fluffy type after all…

This may be a bit disturbing for Bakura lovers or people who get squeamish about torture. However, I am not doing this for fun. This is a plot point...

* * *

Chapter 24

The Mad Death Eaters

Hermione knocked on Yami's door, a bit nervous. Yami opened it. He was rather disgruntled, but he was not about to take it out on Hermione.

"Yes?" He said.

"Can we talk?"

Yami shrugged "I suppose"

Hermione walked in and gave the Pharaoh a long stare. It was starting to unnerve him.

"Just so I got straight…you aren't the normal Yugi just like the guy that just stormed out in a huff is not the Bakura, right?"

Yami sighed "Correct. Just call me Yami, if you wish."

Hermione decided to ignore the fact that three of the Japanese transfer students each had a mental disorder in favor of the fact that two of said transfers had just had a rousing row in the middle of the common room.

"What, exactly is going on between you and Bakura's yami?"

Yami sighed "It's a long story."

"I have time."

"He…I…he keeps on saying I did…things…horrible things…things I don't remember doing!"

"Why would he say things like that…do you have amnesia?" Hermione asked.

"My memories only extend a few years back."

"And his?"

"I'm pretty sure they extend…much further than mine. I know from what he has said that we knew each other long ago. That we didn't like each other. He's said that I have done things that I would never conceive of doing!" Yami was pacing around, agitated.

Hermione frowned "But if you don't remember doing them, who is to say that you did not do them?"

Yami stopped dead "WHAT!?"

"Please don't shout. Let's say, just for the sake of argument, that you did do something horrible in your past, something that Bakura's yami knows about and can't forgive you for. Did you always have a good relationship with Yugi?"

"I…no…." Yami said "In fact…in the beginning I acted a lot like Bakura in some ways."

"What changed?"

"Yugi. He changed me. Made me better…" Yami trailed off again.

"Maybe that is it. Maybe losing your memories helped you become a better person. So of course now you cannot conceive of doing something that you might have done in the past. You've changed, but just because you have changed does not mean that Bakura knows that you changed. He probably thinks you are being insulting and arrogant."

"You're right. I suppose you are right. But what do you suggest I do?"

"First off, I would apologize to Bakura's yami. Even if you don't remember what you did, that does not make you any less responsible for your actions. And it might go a long way to healing this rift between you."

Yami sighed again. "Again, you are right." He smiled "Thank you, Hermione."

She shrugged "No problem." She got up and left the room. As soon as the door was closed she rubbed her temples and muttered "When did I become these people's therapist?"

/Still, I cannot believe that I could have ordered the death of a pregnant woman! I could never have been so heartless…could I, partner?/

/Well…it was Ancient Egypt. It was a pretty brutal time period./

/But still…/

/Yami, I have been thinking about this. Let's say, just as a scenario, that Yami Bakura and his wife were high profile thieves at the time. Let's say that everyone knew who they were. Let's say that you, the Pharaoh, did indeed catch his wife. But, maybe you could not tell that she was pregnant, maybe she was not that far along to…you know…/

/Yes?/

/So, you have a dangerous thief on your hands. Of course the penalty in that day and age was death, so you as the government leader do your duty to the State and have her executed. Well, obviously Yami Bakura knew that she was pregnant, because he told us he knew. So he becomes enraged, one thing leads to another and we get the situation we have right here and now./

/Okay…/

/You might not even ordered it, did you think of that? Maybe it was a judge or something that was not acting under your direct order, but Yami Bakura just blamed you because you were the highest authority in the land, and we know that Yami Bakura has a problem with authority!/

/Maybe./

/Either way, Hermione was right. You should apologize to him. Even if you did it or not, it still happened and it is obviously that it still hurts him. You should still express your regret that it happened, instead of making him angrier by denying it./

/You are right, partner. I need to account for what I have done in the past, the good as well as the bad. As soon as he comes back, I WILL apologize./ Strangely, Yami's voice had the same tone that he would have used had he been facing a duel.

Yugi smiled /That's great Yami…wonder where Bakura is, anyway?/

* * *

Bakura groaned and opened his eyes. He was lying on the dirty floor of what looked like a dusty old house. However, his vision was blurry at the moment, so he could not make out the details. He closed his eyes again and shook aching head. When he opened them the room was in focus…

But now he wished his vision was still blurry. It looked like someone had converted this place into an impromptu torture chamber. Someone had attached manacles to the walls for holding people, and Bakura could see an entire wall dedicated to several torture implements, some of which he had seen at that museum not too long ago. Remembering some of the things he had seen in that place he felt like he was going to be sick.

Bakura tried to sit up, but found that someone had shackled his hands behind his back. At first he did not think that this would be a problem, seeing as how his yami had taught him how to pick locks.

However, his yami had never told him what to do if said shackles did not have any actual locks. He growled to himself, remembering that he was dealing with wizards.

/Yami?/ he called with his mind. No answer. The spirit was still out cold, and no matter how much Bakura shouted in his head nothing would wake the other.

_Great, just when I actually need the guy…_ Bakura groaned.

The door creaked open, and Bakura's heart leapt into his throat. He had a feeling he knew what was coming through that door, and they were not here to give him a Christmas present.

The man that walked through the door was smirking at him like a tiger looking at a wounded gazelle. The eager gleam in his eyes told Bakura that this was man who liked to see the pain of others. If the dictionary ever needed an illustration for the term "sadist" they would have used this man. Bakura felt horror creep up his spine. He was scared, and he was not afraid to admit that.

"So you are awake. Good. It is so much more fun when they are awake." The Death Eater said. He strode over to his captive and leaned down.

Bakura was terrified, but he did not completely forget what his yami had taught him. As soon as the Death Eater's face came within range he kicked out and slammed his foot in the Death Eater's face and squashed his nose. The man reeled backwards, then grinned.

"So you like kicking people, Mudblood?" he said with a mad glint in his eyes. Quick as a flash he brought his foot down on Bakura's knee. Hard.

Bakura gasped in pain as his kneecap shattered under his tormenter's weight. By some odd reflex he lashed out with his uninjured leg and caught the Death Eater in the hip. The man barely seem to feel it, indeed he almost appeared to enjoy Bakura's struggles. Grinning widely he started to stomp on the poor boy, breaking his other leg and several ribs in the process.

The Death Eater lifted Bakura up into the air. For some odd reason this madman started stroking Bakura's hair, and Bakura had the sudden urge to bite those fingers. Sir Sicko gave Bakura a delighted smile and said "Now how about you be a good boy and start telling me everything you know about Harry Potter."

Bakura just stared at him.

"Come on, boy, that badge on your robes is a Gryffindor badge. I can tell, so don't try to lie to me. Gryffindor is Potter's House, so you must know something. Start talking and maybe I'll let you die quickly."

Bakura snarled several very explicit profanities…in Japanese.

The man tightened his grip on Bakura's hair and yanked. The boy snarled something else in Japanese about the man's ancestral goat heritage.

"Stop that. I know that you must have some sort of language charm. How else would you be able to study in an English school? Start. Talking."

Bakura sneered at the man. No matter what this monster did, he was not going to yield. No matter what this man did, he would not yield.

Almost gently, the man lowered Bakura to the ground. With a disgusting smile he turned to the torture implements and selected what looked like a long iron rod.

"Most wizards like to use the Cruciatus Curse to torture Mudbloods like you, but I prefer the old fashioned methods. It's just so much more…personal. Besides." The man muttered something over the rod and it started glowing white hot "I like the sound of crunching bones and shearing flesh."

Bakura closed his eyes as the man cut off his victim's robes and shirt, leaving him in just jeans.

The rod descended.

* * *

Bakura had no idea how long this went on. Eventually it all became one pain filled blur to him. Not once did his yami awaken, and for once in his life Bakura was desperate for the thief's company.

However, despite the pain Bakura never talked. That is not to say he did make any sounds. Truth be told he screamed till he was hoarse. He could not help it. It was either scream or beg, and Bakura refused to do that. If he started begged he might start giving the beast that was torturing him what he wanted…even though Bakura thought that his torturer was enjoying the screaming.

Eventually the door opened again, and someone else, a women, came into the room.

"Honestly, how long have you been doing this?" she demanded.

The man paused, the whip he was using on Bakura still held in his hand, but this time it did not descend. Bakura could not help but whimper in relief.

"Not sure." The man admitted.

"Has he given you any information?"

The man shrugged "No."

"Idiot. Stand aside."

Bakura almost laughed at the man's face. He was practically pouting.

All thoughts of laughter ceased when the woman pointed her wand and said "_Crucio!"_

It was just as bad as what the man had done. It was hard to say which had been worse. What made it extra bad was the fact that most of the bones in Bakura's body were either broken or fractured, and this spell made him feel every rip and tear, as well as a few new ones.

_I can't take much more of this. I'll either break or go mad. I wonder which is worse? Oh yami, where are you? Help me! Help me! It hurts!_

/Huh…what happened…Host!/ the spirit finally awoke.

/Yami! Make her stop! Please oh please!/

Through their link the spirit was suddenly assaulted with the memories of the past few…however long it had been. Needless to say, it threw him into a rage.

/HOW DARE THEY TOUCH YOU! HOW DARE THEY! I WILL RIP THEIR SOULS TO SHREDS!/

For once Bakura had no objections.

For the third time the door opened, and someone very familiar entered the room.

/Professor Snape?/

* * *

Marik groaned and twisted in his bed. Someone was hurting. Someone was in pain. It was someone he knew. Someone he liked and cared about. Who? Who?

He jolted awake with the name on his tongue "Bakura!"

Somehow, he knew. Someone was hurting Bakura.

The young Egyptian pulled on his clothes and started racing to where he knew the Pharaoh was. He had to tell him, had to get help.

He was terrified of what would happen if he was too late.

* * *

A/N: And once again, a cliffhanger. Sorry folks.

Next time: is Snape there to save Bakura or hurt him even more? How did Marik know that Bakura was in danger? Will Yami ever get to apologize? Will Yami Bakura destroy everything within a twelve block radius?

We shall see…


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

The Secret is Out

Yugi and Yami awoke to the sound of Harry screaming in the night. Disturbed and bit grouchy he rolled over in his bed and looked over to see if Bakura was back. He frowned when he saw that the other boy was not there.

/That's not good./ Yugi said.

/No…/ more raised voices from the hall /What is going on out there?/

Yugi poked his head out the door to see Professor McGonagall leading Ron and Harry down the stairs.

"Go back to bed." The professor said to Yugi.

/Yugi, we should…/

/Yeah./

But before either of them could start telling her about their roommate's absence, a very familiar voice came shouting from the outside.

"YUGI! HE'S HURT! OPEN THE DOOR!"

Who is that?" Professor McGonagall said with pursed lips.

"Sounds like Marik." Yugi said.

"What is he doing outside his dorm after curfew?" McGonagall growled and headed for the portrait. "What are you doing young man? And use English!" she demanded as an agitated Marik leap into the room and started screaming.

"He's hurt! They've hurt him! I felt it!"

"Wait! You saw Ron's dad get hurt too?" Harry asked with a look of hope in his eyes.

"Ron's dad? I was talking about Bakura! Someone's hurt him!" Marik said.

"Wait…isn't he-" McGonagall started, but Yugi did a brave thing and interrupted her.

"No, he's not in the dorm." Yugi said.

/I have a really bad feeling./

/So do I, Yugi…/

* * *

Snape entered the room with a mildly disgusted look on his face. Both Death Eaters gave him a look that was semi fearful and semi hateful at the same time. Snape's eyes went from the two Death Eaters to Bakura, then back to the two Death Eaters.

"Let me guess," He said coldly "Another one of your ridiculous interrogations."

"If he knows something-" The first Death Eater started, but Snape cut him off.

"We all know that you only do this because you like to see pain, not because you are actually trying to get information. I know that boy; he is an idiot at best. He knows nothing." Snape said with a sneer.

Yami Bakura, meanwhile, was gathering the shadows, preparing the fates of everyone in this room. He was having trouble deciding on whether or not to turn that man who had beaten his Host into a dung beetle or a toilet scrub brush.

"Allow me," and before the angry yami could do anything Snape pointed his wand and said "_Legilimens."_

A boy and a girl around seven and eight, both with snow white hair, were playing in a sandbox together, trying to build a castle. They were failing miserably, but they were still laughing and having a great time…the boy and girl were now older, about ten, and were now playing with other children in a playground, still laughing and screaming in joy…the boy was running down the street, screaming in horror as the car with his mother and sister was struck by a truck and exploded…the boy sat alone now, just staring into space as other children his age ignored and shunned him…the boy, now about thirteen, was being handed a strange circular necklace with spikes and a triangle in the middle…he fell on his knees in a bathroom, a dark voice laughing in his mind…

/THAT IS ENOUGH!/

Snape blinked and he was no longer standing in the dirty house, but now he was in a long dark hallway with two doors. One door was bright blue the color of the sky, the other a dark black.

Snape shook his head. This should not happen when one cast a Legilimency Spell!

The black door opened.

Snape turned and saw…Bakura. But this Bakura had a narrowed, sharp look about him. The hair was wilder and almost spike like. The face was twisted into an expression of purest anger and loathing.

"So you are here in our mind Spy." Yami Bakura growled. "You should have known better little mortal."

Snape, no fool, realized that this was not Bakura at all. There was no way that this could be the same boy who kept humming in his class.

"What are you? What are you doing in this boy's mind?" he demanded. "You should not be here!"

Yami Bakura laughed. It was a pretty nutty laugh as well "Me? ME!? You and your little friends spend hours torturing this boy. You hurt him and make him suffer, and then you intrude upon his soul! And you have the gall to treat ME like an invader! ME! I will destroy you for your insolence, Spy!"

Snape prepared to use his spell again. But before he did the Yami bellowed "Let's see how you like it!" The spirit raised his hand and shouted the same spell that Snape had.

Amazing on how adaptable yamis are, huh?

Yami Bakura, due to several years of doing similar activities, dived into Snapes mind with little effort.

He soon knew just about everything about Snape, including the secret he had kept from everyone concerning his true relationship and feelings concerning Harry.

Yami Bakura's wrath had gone from Fiery Death of Armageddon to simply Fiery Death. He was now giving Snape a considering look.

"So…your loyalty is truly with Dumbledore...?" Bakura said with a smirk. "Even so…"

Snape realized that this…thing was still considering killing him, or worse.

Yami Bakura cocked his head, appearing to listen to something for a few seconds, then he smirked again. "Alright, Spy, I'll make a deal with you. You tell me all about your little Order of the Phoenix and I won't turn you into thumb tack."

"The other two?"

"Are dead. Don't even think about pleading for their lives."

Snape shrugged "So much the better." He said.

Reality snapped back to itself, and Snape found himself back in the real world. A few seconds later a ghostly form emerged from Bakura's body. And he looked…slightly irked. The two Death Eater's jerked in surprise.

Yami Bakura smirked. He pointed at the women who had used the Cruciatus Curse on his host's body. "You," he growled "how would you like to see true darkness? Say hello to the Shadow Realm, mortal. Come, Man-eater Bug! Take her into the darkness!" The strange creature emerged from the shadows. With a roar it lunged and the woman and ate her whole.

Yami Bakura's eyes snapped to the first Death Eater. "I have something really special planned for you!" a mad grin was plastered all over the yami's face as the Death Eater vanished from sight.

"What did you do to him?" Snape dared to ask.

"Does it matter?" Yami Bakura growled.

"I suppose not." Snape said, not knowing how to deal with a clearly unstable ghost.

/Yami?/ Bakura asked in a shaky voice.

/Yes?/ said the spirit in a strangely soft tone.

/We need help…Yami I was wondering…/

/Yes?/

/Marik…he once used the Rod on me…and he used us to hide when his yami went on a rampage…maybe we can…contact him…maybe./

/Don't concern yourself with this. Go to your soulroom and sleep. I will take care of everything./

/…you…promise?/

/Yes, yes I do. Don't fret Bakura, I will take care of you./

/Yami…you used my name…you…/

/Shhh, relax. Just relax and sleep./

Yami Bakura could feel the boy crawl into his soulroom and fall asleep. The yami felt a stirring of pride towards the boy. There was no time to dwell on this, however, as the yami turned his attention to Snape.

"I am going to get some help. If I come back and you have hurt him any further I will be forced to turn you into a brine shrimp. The freeze dried kind." He growled. The yami then focused his mind on Marik. Bakura had been right, there was a connection between his mind and Marik's. Yami Bakura followed the connection.

* * *

He did not expect, however, to pop into existence in Dumbledore's office with several others discussing his host and Mr. Weasley.

"Tomb Robber!" Yami yelled "Are you okay? Is Bakura okay?"

"No, he is not. He needs help and he needs it now…wait…why are we in this wizard's office?" the confused yami looked around.

"What…who…huh?" Ron gazed at the yami with a dazed expression. "What are you?"

"I am the voice in Bakura's head." The spirit said.

"But…I thought you said that you where his other personality!" Harry protested.

The yami turned and glared at him "No, what I said was that dissociative identity disorder is not the same thing as schizophrenia, a correct statement. I also said that neither I nor Bakura where schizophrenic, another true statement. Never did I say that he had a personality disorder, I just let you assume that."

"Then what are you?" Harry asked.

A flash of fire erupted on Dumbledore's desk.

"She is coming. You will have to leave." Dumbledore said "You must get to the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix."

"Does Snape know the place?" Yami Bakura asked.

Dumbledore gazed at the spirit and blinked. "Yes indeed."

"Fine," Yami Bakura said "We should discuss this there, then, seeing as how this 'her' is more then likely that Umbridge gargoyle."

"Indeed. I am sure all of us have questions for each other." Dumbledore said.

Yami Bakura vanished back to where he had left Snape and Bakura. He knew that their secret was out now, and that he was responsible for it. No matter, if things got out of hand he was sure that he could wipe some minds…he hoped.

"You must take us to your headquarters." Bakura announced "What are you doing to him!?"

Snape had been making several passes around Bakura's body with his wand.

"I am mending his bones, Spirit, or would you rather he stays this way?" the grouchy man growled.

"Hmmp. Take us to this Order of the Phoenix, mortal." The yami demanded.

"And why should I-"

BANG! A ruffled looking Robot was standing in the middle of the room. Someone had obviously Apparated him there. The dragon flapped over to Snape and dropped a scroll at his feet, then the little dragon gave what was clearly a coo and settled on Bakura. He coiled his tail around the boy's neck protectively and kept cooing.

Snape scanned the paper, scowled and pulled out his wand. "Here we go." He growled and the four of them Disapparated.

* * *

Unfortunately, when they landed in Number 12 Grimmauld Place a discombobulated Robot crashed into a tapestry and tore away a curtain. Under said curtain was a portrait of an unpleasant looking woman who began to curse them out.

"BLOOD TRAITORS! STAINS UPON THE EARTH! BEGONE FROM THE HOUSE OF MY-"

"SILENCE, FOOLISH MORTAL!" Yami Bakura bellowed. With a gesture and a glow from the Ring the portrait vanished into the Shadow Realm.

Sirius came down and stopped dead in his tracks. "You got rid of her?" he said in wonder.

"Yes." Yami Bakura growled "I am not bringing her back."

"I…could kiss you." Sirius said, extremely pleased.

"I don't swing that way, mortal." Yami Bakura said.

"Tomb Robber…hi." Marik emerged from a hallway. "Is Bakura alright?"

"I have managed to take care of most of his wounds, but he should be taken to a bed and allowed to rest." Snape said moodily. "Now."

"Follow me." Sirius said.

"Tomb Robber…we are going to tell them everything…" Marik said to Yami Bakura.

"…fine…as long as Bakura is safe…I care not a wit as long as he is safe!"

Marik gave the spirit a strange sad look. "I know…I know…"

* * *

A few moments later Harry, Ron, the twins, Sirius and Snape were all standing around starting at Yami, Yugi, Marik and Yami Bakura in the guest room that Sirius was lending the still sleeping Bakura.

"You…those are Millennium Items, am I right?" Sirius gave the foreigners a suspicious look "What are you three doing with those Dark items?"

"I happen to live in the Millennium Ring around Bakura's neck." Yami Bakura growled. "And it is NOT a Dark item…at least it has nothing to do with the Dark Arts."

"I have heard that these…things where so dark that they made the Dark Arts tremble." Sirius said.

"No wonder, they are powerful." Marik said "they use Shadow Magic. A basic rule of Shadow Magic is that you must have both Light and Dark in balance for the best results. Hence, the term Shadow. It is more powerful than both, because it combines the two."

"How about…we start at the beginning?" Yugi said. He turned to the wizards and started talking "Around 5000 years ago in Ancient Egypt…."

* * *

The Death Eater that had beaten Bakura found himself unable to move. He was stiff from his legs to his hair. However…he really did not have legs or hair anymore at all.

He felt himself being picked up. He saw a bathroom. A toilet. A mirror.

In the mirror he saw a muggle women holding a stiff bathroom toilet brush.

Himself.

He squealed as he was dipped into the toilet.

But no one can hear you when you have no mouth…

* * *

A/N: A fitting end, yes? 


	26. Chapter 26

An Author's note: When I set down to write this story I never really expected it to center around Bakura and his yami (even though I really like both of them), but somehow I think the story had managed to edge that direction.

Just goes to show that some stories really do have minds of their own. Scary huh?

* * *

Chapter 26

The Past

A few hours later the wizards now knew just about every detail about the Millennium items…at least they knew as much as Yami and Yugi knew. Yami Bakura really did not pay much attention to the proceedings; he was too busy making sure Bakura had not slipped into a coma or something like that.

Once the duelists where finished talking the wizards still looked slightly bamboozled.

Finally, Snape snorted "This is the most ridiculous story I have ever heard. Shadow Magic? There can be no such thing. Magic is either Dark or Light, it that simple. Besides that, there is no other kind of magic that we wizards do not know about."

"Oh yes, you high and mighty wizards know everything." Yami Bakura rolled his eyes. "You don't even know the Elder Breed."

"The elder what?" Sirius asked.

"See what I mean." Yami Bakura smirked.

"I don't even know what those are..." Yami shook his incorporeal head.

"Well, you are nobility. Of course you would not know." Yami Bakura said smugly.

Yami gritted his teeth, but did not rise to the bait.

Yami Bakura growled and walked over to the bed and said "Believe what you will, fools. I need to check on Bakura!" With that the moody spirit vanished.

"…what a pleasant and cheerful man…" Ron muttered.

Snape frowned. He did not trust this spirit, not at all. Such power and darkness! Though the spirit did not seem as evil as Voldemort, he was still dark enough to be a danger to them all. He would have to discuss this…creature with Dumbledore as soon as possible. Perhaps the headmaster would have a reliable way of keeping this thing on a leash. Truth be told, Snape was a bit scared of the spirit (it was not often that the Potions Master had his brain broken into and he did not like the feeling at all), and he was going to make sure this self proclaimed King of Thieves was kept under control.

Snape rose, growled something about meeting Dumbledore and Appareated out of there.

Marik raised his eyebrows "I think the Tomb Robber just made an enemy…." He said.

"He's everyone's enemy." Sirius scowled. "I wish that I could be out there fighting Voldemort, though! I wouldn't have to hear him bragging all the time!"

"Why can't you fight? Can't you turn into a dog…right?" Yugi asked.

"Yeah, but thanks to my old buddy Wormtail every Death Eater in England knows to look out for a big black dog." Sirius said sadly.

"…why don't you dye your fur?" Marik asked.

"What?" Sirius said.

Marik rolled his eyes "Honestly, you wizards make things so **complicated**! Look, just get some white hair dye, maybe have one of us clip your fur a bit, maybe stick a blue bandana or a bow or something and no one will recognize you!"

Everyone stared at Marik.

"That is actually a good idea…except for the bow part." Sirius said "You're right, I should try that…"

"Idiot wizards." Marik muttered in Arabic.

* * *

Meanwhile in Bakura's mind, the spirit was walking down the hallway connecting their soul room. For the first time in almost 5,000 years he felt nervous about facing the boy who he shared an existence with.

He faced Bakura's door with a sigh. "I've hurt him so much…why did I do that? Why did I hurt him so much? What was I thinking?"

Truth be told, he could not quite remember why he had been so harsh to Bakura in the first place. It felt to him like it had been a completely different person that had done those acts.

For a second he remembered what that Black Fox creature had done to him, that blackness she had removed from his soul. Was that the reason he was now feeling so much guilt over what he had done to the boy? What had that creature done to him?

The spirit shook his head. It did not matter anymore! It was done, and he could not change it. What mattered now was Bakura.

He opened the door to find Bakura pacing around his soulroom (just because one is unconscious in the real world did not mean one was not active in one's own mind).

When Bakura noticed his yami was here he jumped a little, his eyes going wide. For a second Bakura and his spirit stared at each other, neither knowing what to do.

The spirit took a deep breath. "Bakura…I've been…a complete and utter fool. I've hurt you. It made perfect sense to me while I did it…but it makes no sense now…I…I…am sorry." Those last two words where so quiet that Bakura could barely make them out.

Bakura smiled at his yami "It's alright. I know you are not all bad. I've known since Battle City that there is some good in you."

"What! But I stabbed you!" Yami Bakura stared at Bakura in shock.

"On the blimp you saved me. You saved me from Slifer the Sky Dragon. I know you said that only did it because you needed my body…but…I think you where lying yami."

"Like I said before, you are far too nice." Yami Bakura said.

"Maybe…maybe." Bakura grinned.

"Hmp, by the way, the wizards know about…everything now." Yami Bakura said.

"Brilliant." Bakura groaned.

"We will just have to see how this plays out." Yami Bakura shrugged.

"Yeah…yami?"

"What?"

Bakura hesitated. His yami seemed in a strangely mellow mood today, and was acting much nicer than he usually did. There was something Bakura wanted to ask his yami, and he thought that now might be the perfect time.

"Yami…a few weeks ago I asked you why you hate the Pharaoh, and I still want to know…please tell me."

For a moment Yami Bakura looked like he was going to just leave, but then his face softened a mild fraction "Sit down, Bakura."

Bakura, a bit shocked that his yami had yet to call him "host", sat down on the floor of his soulroom. His yami sat across from him with a sigh.

"A long time ago when I was just a boy, my village was destroyed to create the Millennium Items. The Pharaoh sent his men and slaughtered my people to make these items. In the name of power he killed everyone I loved in one fell swoop."

"Yugi's-"

"No, this was not the Pharaoh you know, but his father. Akem-something-or-other. I managed to run into the desert and was rescued by a golden dragon named Gorneel."

"The one whose voice you have been hearing?"

"The same. Gorneel saved me and brought me to the Thief King. In those days the King of Thieves lead a band of rouges that traveled the known world plundering and robbing the nobility. In a way, we where like that Robin Hood fellow, only we keep our treasures for ourselves.

I was adopted into the Band, and for a while I practiced to be a blacksmith for them. I really did not have any ambition to be a thief back then. However, in the Band even the cooks knew basic thieving skills, just in case, and I was no different.

We traveled around for a while, and eventually we came back to Egypt when I was thirteen. We ended up in the capital, and the King thought it would be a good idea to give me some practical training. I would live in the city for three weeks with no support and no aid. The basic idea was to teach me self reliance.

I was a bit lonely at first, I have to admit that, but I got used to it. Then, however, everything changed. I meet another boy about my age. At first I thought he was the son of a palace scribe looking for some fun. He dressed like a commoner, but it was pretty obvious he was high born or at least had been around high borns enough to pick up their mannerisms.

We talked…okay, honestly we argued about nobles a lot. I hated them, not only because of what they had done to my family, but because Gorneel always told me that nobles were lazy indolent scum that did absolutely nothing for the common people but break their backs with work and pain. He hated nobles; Gorneel…hated them a lot.

Anyway, after some rather spirited discussion we started fighting, but then it turned from fighting to a kind of play wrestling. After that, we had become friends.

We played together all the time I was there. I liked him; he was the only person I had met close to my age in a long time. But then one day he showed up with a bunch of soldiers in the market…riding on a horse beside the very man who oversaw the death of my parents. The Pharaoh. What was worse, the murderer was wearing the Puzzle! A thing made from the blood of my kin!

I confronted my so called 'friend' right there on the street. I knew who he was now, he was not just in contact with nobles, he was the prince.

'How could you do this?' I bellowed 'How!'

He begged me to come with him, begged me to come and live in the palace with him. Then the Pharaoh looked at me…and I flew into a rage.

'Monster!' I bellowed 'Murderer! You killed my family to make that THING on your neck!' I lunged for him, but his guards threw me to the ground and prepared to run me through with their spears.

Then Gorneel swooped down from the sky, and the Thief King rode up with the rest of the Band at his heels. They had been following me, to make sure I was safe, and now that I was in real danger they had come to save me.

The Thief King's sword flashed through the air and cut the spears to pieces. 'Hurt this boy and you will rue the day you drew breath, evil one.' He growled at the Pharaoh, who had the gall to look shocked! Or maybe he was distracted by Gorneel…

Anyway, Gorneel scooped me up in his claws and flew away to get me to safety. I don't know what passed between the tow of them, all I knew was that the friend I had played with for weeks had betrayed me, and I hated him for it.

I was distraught that night, very distraught. 'This is so wrong!' I told Gorneel 'He will live as a king and be hailed by the people, even though he and his kin destroy everyone around them! His son…will he be like the Pharaoh?'

'My boy.' Gorneel said sadly, 'I am afraid that this…child will grow to be exactly like his father. You saw how he tried to trick you into becoming his slave? I guarantee that is what would have happed to you had you gone with him.'

'It is not fair…' I groaned.

Then Gorneel nuzzled me and said 'Little brother, if you wish it you can become a king as well. I will help you, and you will surpass this boy in wisdom and strength. Do you wish it?'

'Yes, I do.' I said.

'Then I swear to you, when you are ready, you will be a king."

Gorneel kept his promise. I stopped my blacksmith training and began to take on full thief training.

When the old Thief King retired, Gorneel kept his promise.

I became the Thief King."

Bakura was silent for a moment, then he said. "I…can kind of see where you are coming from…but how do you know that Yami was going to betray you?"

"What else would he have done?"

"Maybe he did not expect to see you that day with his father, maybe he thought he was offering you a better life?"

"The life of a slave?"

"How old was he?

"…maybe nine…ten at most."

"I'll grant you that his parents probably where thinking that, but I doubt he was thinking like that at nine or ten! He probably thought he was helping you!"

"Bakura, he was a noble! You don't know what they were like back then! Imagine a Voldemort who did not have to slink in the shadows! That is what they were like!"

"Yami, you say that I am too nice, but you are too quick to judge! You never got their side of the story!"

Yami Bakura stood up, anger clear on his face "You were not there, Bakura, you do not know what it was like!"

"Maybe…maybe…but I still think that you judge too fast."

"Hmmp!" the spirit spun around to leave.

"Yami?"

"What?"

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"Your parents. I'm sorry they were murdered…I know what it is like to lose someone you love…"

The spirit hesitated "I know…go to sleep, Bakura. Rest up and get stronger."

"Okay…please think about what I said."

"…alright…" Yami Bakura said as he faded from the boy's mind.

As Bakura was started go even deeper into sleep he smiled. It was the first time in his life that his spirit had called him by name. It felt good, and he loved it.

"He is getting better, I can feel it!" he said as he slipped into sleep.

* * *

When Yami Bakura rematriazlized back to his room he discovered a transparent Yami waiting for him.

"What are you doing here alone?" the spirit of the Ring growled.

"Most of the wizards went to see Ron's dad…and Marik and Yugi went to find white hair dye."

"…hair dye?"

"For Sirius."

"…Hair….Dye…?"

"Yes, hair dye."

"Huh….Mortals."

"I need to talk to you." Yami said.

"About what?" the spirit asked.

"I cannot remember my past. I do not know what I did long ago."

"So? Why should I care?'

"I don't remember, but you have said that once killed your wife. I don't know if I really did it, or if it was done by someone else in my name, or if I even knew about it."

Yami Bakura huffed.

"But I am sorry." Yami finished with a slightly pained look.

"What did you say?" Yami Bakura stared.

"I am sorry. If I did give such a heinous order then I am sorry. If it was done without my knowledge then I am sorry as well, because either way I was responsible. I have never apologized for anything I have done before in my life…but I am sorry now."

"You think that WORDS are going to erase what happened!?" Yami Bakura bellowed "You think I will forget it all! NEVER! I will never forget!"

Yami lowered his head, not knowing what to say.

But, as Yami Bakura stared at the Pharaoh, he remembered the boy he had once been. How good a friend he had been, and for once he thought that maybe he HAD been wrong. That maybe the prince had not betrayed him after all.

Maybe the boy was right.

"I will NEVER forget." Yami Bakura reiterated "But…I will work on forgiving."

Yami looked up, and for the first time in 5,000 years he smiled at his old friend. A friend he could not remember.

But he was still…a friend.

* * *

A/N: By the way, this will not turn out a tendershipping fic. Mainly because I have always thought that parings that include Yami and Hikari (I think that is how you spell it), are a sort of weird form of narccissim (Now I will read them if the plot is good, but I will read anything if the plot is good. Plot trumps all), but I don't think I should be writing them with the way I percive it. The relatioship between Yami Bakura and Bakura is going to be a plantonic brother/father/son kinda thing.

Similary, you will not see Yami Yugi or Yami Bakura getting together. But...that is because I think Yami Yugi works better with Mana...I don't know why I just like it better (shrugs).


	27. Chapter 27

An Author's note: Beware, oh homophobes! The next OC that will be introduced here is not for your kind! Just a warning.

Chapter 27

Elves

/Look, I feel fine, I can get up./

/I don't THINK so!/

Bakura groaned. Since when did his yami act like a mommy hen? It was a strange change, and one that was not unwelcome, but it was very puzzling. Due to Snape's healing spell Bakura was feeling much better by the afternoon, but his yami still insisted on treating him like he was five feet from death's door.

/Yami, I'm fine. If I stay here on this bed I will go mad! Just let me at least go downstairs!/

/Fine…but if you look even the least bit faint I'll drag you right back up here./

Bakura sighed. This was getting almost creepy.

Finally allowed to get up, Bakura pulled the covers off and gasped. While Snape had managed to heal his broken bones and stop the bleeding, he had not managed to prevent a massive amount of scars. In fact, the little holes in his chest where the Ring's tines had once buried themselves were almost unnoticeable due to this new collection all over his chest and stomach. His yami looked furious.

/That idiot Snape! I'm going to kill him!/ the thief growled.

/I'm sure he did the best he could…/

/I doubt it./ Yami Bakura growled.

The door started to open. Out of habit, Yami Bakura vanished as a woman with red hair who looked like an older version of Ginny Weasley walked in carrying a tray of food. She started when she noticed that Bakura was up.

"Oh, I thought you would still be asleep. I…oh..." she stared at Bakura, a look of great sympathy on her face.

Self consciously, Bakura pulled his sheet over his chest. "Who are you?" he asked.

"Molly Weasley, Ron's mother…are you okay?" she placed the food tray down and gave Bakura a concerned look.

"I..." Bakura wanted to lie and say he was fine. But the look she was giving him…it had been a very long time since anyone had looked at him that way, full of caring and concern. The last person had been his own mother…who had died in the same car accident as his sister.

Perhaps it was this, the memories and feelings that thinking of his mother caused, combined with the trauma of what had happened not a few hours ago, but Bakura's eyes started to water. He closed his eyes and hung his head, trying not to cry but failing badly at it.

Just because one has children does not necessarily mean one is a mother, and vice versa. A person could have ten thousand children, but not feel a thing for any of them. Similarly, a person could have no children but still feel maternal instinct towards others.

Molly Weasley happened to be that type of person who not only had children, but also felt strong maternal instincts. She had already half adopted Harry (in fact had it been up to her he would never have to set foot in the Dursley house ever again). It was this instinct that prompted her to wrap her arms around the clearly distraught boy in front of her. Never mind what Snape had been ranting about the "evil spirit" that supposedly was following this young man around. What Molly Weasley saw here right now was a not a potential threat, but a hurt and scared boy that had just been through a horrible experience that desperately needed a shoulder to cry on.

It was, perhaps, a good thing that Yami Bakura had taken care of the Death Eaters; they would not have long survived an encounter with Molly Weasley, if she ever had encountered them.

It did not matter to her that this boy was not her own, nor did she notice it when the spirit appeared behind them giving her a look of complete and utter respect.

_Okay, this one is going on my Don't Kill Under Any Circumstance List._ The spirit thought.

A few moments later Bakura had gotten a hold of himself (and actually felt much better, thank you very much), and was happily digging into the brunch that Mrs. Weasley had brought him (she had gone ahead and left, not wanting to make Bakura nervous by hanging around staring at him). He had somewhat gotten over the shock of seeing himself like this, and had basically accepted it. After all, a few scars were not that bad, considering what could have happened.

His yami did not agree, he was currently thinking up appropriate painful punishments for a certain Potions Master.

Bakura was still determined to explore this place a little bit, and hopefully find out what the others had been doing, so when he was done eating he put on some robes that had been left for him and proceed to leave the room, despite his yami's grumbling on the matter.

As he was slowly wandering down the hallway he heard what sounded like an angry Harry shouting from a room.

"Harry?" Bakura called from the door, "are you okay?"

"Get away from me!" the young wizard bellowed from the other side of the door.

"Don't talk like that to him!" Yami Bakura stuck his incorporeal head through the door to snarl at Harry.

"Go away before I hurt you!" Harry shouted, but his voice was more fearful than angry. Something crashed into the door.

Yami Bakura pulled his head back through the door. "He threw a lamp at me! That boy is bound for the Shadow-"

"Yami, leave it alone." Bakura said.

"But-"

"Never mind." Bakura turned away from the door and walked off. After a bit of grumpy silence, Yami Bakura followed.

Finally, after a bit of wandering they came upon a room that housed not only Yugi, Marik and Ron, but also Sirius in his dog form. Not to mention what looked like one of those old fashioned wooden things that people used to wash their clothes in back in the Middle Ages.

"Okay, I'm not quite sure how you are supposed to do this." Marik confessed. "I think we should just pour the stuff in and have you roll around in it…I guess."

"You…guess." Yugi moaned.

"Hey, I've never exactly dyed my hair before, okay? Much less a dog's hair." Marik said defensively.

"Oh this is going to be fun." Yami Bakura said with a smirk.

"Hey Bakura, hey Tomb Robber." Marik waved. "Want to come over here and help us play Disguise the Dog?"

Bakura, naturally, smiled and said sure, while his yami just grumbled and leaned against a corner. He watched as Sirius rolled around in a tub of white hair dye while the three duelists and Ron rubbed it into his fur for him.

Unfortunately, Bakura had not shut the door that well. As Sirius was emerging from the tub, actually a pleasant white color now, a small creature with drooping pointed ears shuffled in muttering something about blood traitors under his breath. Marik and Yugi recognized it as a house elf. Bakura, who had never seen one before, just gave the new arrival a curious look.

"Who…and what is that?" Bakura asked.

"Kreacher, he's a house elf. Crazy too." Ron groaned. He really disliked that elf.

All of a sudden Bakura felt a stab of horror and disbelief through his mental link with his yami. Usually the dark spirit had so much control that Bakura never felt a thing, but this emotion was to strong even for him to keep bottled up.

Slowly, the spirit walked over to Kreacher and stared into his eyes. Softly Yami Bakura started to yap in a language that no one else could understand. Surprisingly, Kreacher stopped his muttering and started shaking even worse than usual. Suddenly the house elf gave a cry and ran out of the room.

Shaking, his face contorted with anger, Yami Bakura rounded on Sirius and bellowed "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE! WHAT SPELL HAVE YOU CASTED ON HIM! REMOVE IT AT ONCE! HOW DARE YOU DO THAT TO AN ELF!"

"What are you talking about?" Sirius changed back to human, funnily enough his hair stayed white "I didn't do a thing to him. He's always been that way, unpleasant creature."

"ARE YOU STUPID! DO YOU REALLY THINK THAT IS NATURAL! HOW THE HELL DOES A CREATURE GO FROM SIX FEET TALL WITH AN ATTITUDE TO SIX INCHES TALL WITH AN INPULSE TO SERVE HUMANS!"

"What are you talking about! He's a house elf! All of them are like that…okay some are much nicer than he is…" Ron said, confused.

Yami stared at the wizards "You…have you never seen an elf?"

"Yeah, we see em all the time-" Harry started.

Yami Bakura screamed "I mean a real elf! Six feet tall? Mostly human features? Way to good looking for their own good? Arrogant as hell? Thing for trees? Am I ringing a single bell here?"

The wizards looked at Yami Bakura as if he had lost his mind.

"My…Ra…" Yami Bakura looked stunned "You really have no idea…you don't know…" he shook his head.

"What are you talking about, yami?" Bakura looked at his other half with concern.

"Five thousand years ago there was a race of beings called elves. They where of the Elder Breed. They were one of the proudest and most powerful of the Elder Breed. That…house elf…has to have been descended from them! I could sense foreign magic coming off of him in droves! Somehow…someone did something to an entire race of people to turn them into…THAT!"

Sirius shook his head "How can you tell?"

"Boy, I spent all of my life with an elf! He was Thief King Kurrus's partner! He helped raise me!"

"Partner?" Harry looked confused.

"Oops, I was almost politically correct there, for a second. Sorry, I meant lover." Yami Bakura said casually.

"Whoa, whoa…you were raised by…a gay elf?" Harry asked.

"I was raised by a dragon, a thief king and his band, and yes an elf. And yes, the King and elf were in love." Everyone stared at Yami Bakura "Oh come on! It was 3000 B.C., no one cared back then! Least of all the elves."

"Ooookay…I'm not sure if this is information I needed…." Ron muttered.

"The point is, I know an elf when I see one. I know an enchanted elf when I see one, and that Kreacher fellow is enchanted." Yami Bakura said.

"This is the first I have ever heard of such a thing." Sirius said in a disbelieving tone.

"Huh, fine, I don't care what you think! But mark my words! I will find a way to fix this!" Yami Bakura vanished again back into the ring.

"Oh…he is angry." Bakura said after a bit.

"Yeah, we could tell." Marik muttered "Gay elves…of all things…"

Meanwhile, a few continents away, a person who would have been very familiar to Yami Bakura was sleeping in a tree looking like a thin lanky version of Tarzan.

With pointed ears.

Azzeraell, the last of the true elves and the very same elf that had helped a dragon and thief king raise an evil spirit, was gently snoring in the Congo. He was fairly certain that no one was going to bother him in the Congo, least of all people with wands.

One had to be very careful of humans with wands, they tended to do funny thing with your race.

"Hey, you up there, Elf!" someone said from the base of the tree.

The elf cracked an eyelid. "Great, a goblin. What do you want?" he asked in a tired voice.

"I thought you might like to know. Those Claws you donated to the bank have been stolen."

"Really…wait, WHAT!" the elf was down the tree and in the goblin's face in a flash. "Who stole them!"

"I don't know, no one does…but many around the office say that it might have been the original owner."

"Impossible! He is dead! I saw him die!" Azzeraell growled.

"And there are some that say the Dark Lord is back as well." The goblin replied.

"Huh…wnhich Dark Lord are we talking about? You know how many Dark Lords there are?"

"Voldemort."

"Huh, never heard of him…where was this, again?"

"London, England."

"London, huh? Wizards, huh? Well…I suppose I'll have to go there now won't I?"

"They could turn you into a house elf…" the goblin said.

"I'll swallow a knife before that happens, but if someone has those Claws I need to find them. If they are connected to…him I have to know!"

_For Kurrus, if no one else. And if I do die, so much the better. I don't really have that much to live for after all._ The elf vanished as if he had never been there...and headed for England.

A/N: Another message for readers, this OC is going to be an elf first, an elf second, and elf third…basically, I am not going to base his personality on usual gay stereotypes. I'll throw in elf stereotypes before I do that. If you spot anything stereotypy, please inform me.


	28. Chapter 28

An Author's Note: There will be dialogue ripped from the book in here, because I could see no way around it. It won't be much, though, and it will be from someone else's POV…

Enjoy.

Chapter 28

The Ankh

Yami Bakura's bad mood lasted well through dinner, but fortunately for all involved the surge of power that had allowed him to send one Death Eater to the Shadow Realm and one to the wonderful world of home economics had faded. This made him even grumpier, and he refused to communicate with the outside world for a lengthy duration of time.

However, this gave Bakura the opportunity to find out just what in the world was bothering Harry so much that he would throw a lamp at an evil spirit.

"So, you're saying that he thinks Voldemort is possessing him?" Bakura asked Ron, who jumped a bit at the mention of The Name. It was currently dinner time, and Yugi and Bakura where getting the entire story of what happened at the wizard hospital from Ron and the twins.

"Well, that is what Moody said." Fred replied. "Mind you, the man sees stalkers everywhere, so I tend to doubt his diagnosis."

"No wonder he's locked himself away…I can understand that." Bakura said.

"What, do you have experience?" George said. It was supposed to be a joke, so he was a bit surprised when Marik hit him over the head with the Millennium Rod. "Ouch!"

"Be careful of what you say, possession is no joke." Marik growled.

_This coming from a guy who took over people's minds on a regular basis._ Yugi thought.

"…wait, do you have experience?" Ron asked.

"We all do, in on way or another." Yugi growled.

"Isn't that good? Maybe you can help Harry-"

"Ron, do you realize that you have the tact of a raging rhinoceros?" Ginny said mildly as she walked up and sat down beside them. She had noticed the slightly downcast looks of the three duelists and decided to come save them from the stupidity of her sibling.

"What did I say?" Ron asked.

Yugi shifted uncomfortably. Truth be told, the three of them probably would be the best to talk to Harry, no matter how uneasy it made them. It even made Yugi uneasy, and he was the one the stable yami! Even in the beginning, when Yami Yugi had a tendency to light people on fire, the Pharaoh had shown a bit more sanity then Yami Bakura or Yami Marik. Yami Bakura (up until now, at least) had always treated the real Bakura as nothing more then a means to an end, and Yami Marik had actually tried to destroy his other half. To all of them possession was a very tender subject, and Yugi did not think that any of them wanted to rehash it tonight.

"Maybe we can talk to him tomorrow…" Yugi muttered. Marik glared at Yugi while Bakura just fidgeted a bit.

The next morning and day involved much decorating. Sirius had basically invited the entire group to stay over during Christmas. This caused a bit of discussing amongst the duelists.

"I'm not sure…I sure would like to see a Western Christmas, but I would also like to see the others." Yugi said.

"I'm staying." Bakura said in a strange, flat tone.

"Why? Don't you want to go home?" Marik asked.

"To what? An empty apartment? That'll be loads of fun." Bakura said in an uncharacteristically sarcastic tone.

"Guess I'll stick around too…I just got used to the time difference after all." Marik shrugged.

"Okay" Yugi grinned "Guess that means I'll be the only one on the plane home, huh?" While he could understand Bakura's reasons (and he secretly suspected that Marik was just staying to keep an eye on Bakura), he really wanted to see his friends again. He was going home tomorrow…or maybe two days from now…or maybe today, depending on how you measured the time difference. He would be on the plane tomorrow, at least.

In the meantime, Yugi was happy to help them decorate. It was hard not to be happy at this time, because Sirius was practically bursting with happiness and he was infecting the rest of them with it.

Unfortunately, Harry was still isolating himself, and Yugi was starting to think that they would have to talk with him soon.

Around six a familiar face entered the building.

"Hermione, I thought you were going skiing with your parents?" Bakura asked.

"I heard about what happened…and…well…I just couldn't go." She shook her head. "Still…I can't believe you lied to me about that spirit!"

Bakura blinked "Technically it was his lie…and…look if you had an evil spirit with a tendency to steal things and sic monsters on people would you be comfortable talking about it?"

"I suppose not…but still." Hermione still looked a bit offended.

"May I say that I resent being referred to as an 'it'" a certain thief growled as he appeared before them, scaring poor Hermione out of her mind "Besides that the relationship between myself and Bakura is really none of you business, Granger." He snarled at Hermione before disappearing.

"Is he always like that?" she asked.

"Oh, that was him being nice." Bakura shrugged and smiled. "Sorry, but he is a bit rude."

"How do you stand it?"

"Constant exposure." Another grin.

"Hermione frowned. "How is Harry doing?"

"Pretty bad, I'm afraid. We where going to talk to him right now, in fact. Could you go get him for us?" Bakura said.

"Sure." She said.

"We'll meet in his bedroom; he usual hides there or in Buckbeaks…den I suppose you would call it. We think he is hiding with Buckbeak, though…" Bakura said.

"Right, see you there." Hermione nodded as she headed up to Buckbeak's den.

/Yami…what do you think we should say to him?/ Bakura asked.

/Honestly I don't care what you say to that…brat./ the spirit growled. /If you ask me you should not talk at all, just kick some sense into him!/

/Okay, remind me never to go to you for relationship advise./

/Gladly./

Bakura entered Harry's bedroom and situated himself between Marik and Yugi, who were standing at the end of Ron's bed. Ron and Ginny were sitting on the bed, and all together they looked almost like an army. Marik looked ready to physically hurt someone, and Yugi just looked anxious.

Finally the door opened and Harry came in with Hermione. Harry gazed at all of them in surprise, and then got a very mulish look on his face. Even when Hermione sat down beside Ginny Harry still had a stubborn look in his eyes.

This was not going to be easy.

"How are you feeling?" asked Hermione.

"Fine." Harry said. It was clearly a lie.

"Oh, don't lie, Harry," Hermione said "Ron and Ginny say you've been hiding from everyone since you got back from St. Mungo's."

"They do, do they?" Harry glared at the room in general. Marik glared right back at him. Yugi just fidgeted more and Bakura sighed. Ron was staring at his feet, but Ginny was giving Harry a steady look.

"Well, you have!" she said. "And you won't look at any of us!"

"It's you lot who won't look at me!"

"Maybe you're taking it in turns to look and keep missing each other." Hermione's mouth twitched, and Yugi fought down and nervous laugh.

"Very funny," Harry turned away from them. Marik was starting to grit his teeth. His grip on the Millennium Rod was getting tighter and tighter, and Bakura was starting to wonder if the tomb keeper's plan was to brain Harry with it.

"Oh, stop feeling all misunderstood," said Hermione "Look, the others have told me what you overheard last night on the Extendable Ears-"

"Yeah? All been talking about me, have you? Well, I'm getting used to-"

Marik had enough, he snarled and whipped the Millennium Rod around in such a way that reminded one of his yami on a really, really bad day. He pointed the thing at Harry and growled "Shut up! I've had enough! You want to talk about possession? Let's talk about possession! Let's talk about the first few months when Yugi had his puzzle, when the Pharaoh went around lighting criminals on fire and playing with scorpions and sending people to their own person hells whenever they lost a game with him! Let's talk about how Bakura would get possessed by the Tomb Robber and how he would attack his friends and family and basically drove everyone away from Bakura!"

As he talked Marik got closer and closer to Harry. Marik's face was now inches from Harry's.

"Let's talk about MY yami! Let's talk about the thing that took this Rod and stabbed it into my father and killed him! He might have deserved it, but still! Let's talk about how he convinced me that Yugi was my enemy and had me attack him! Let's talk about how he shoved me out of my own body and tried to wipe me from existence! You think a little DREAM about a SNAKE is possession! You don't even know the meaning of possession!"

Harry gaped at Marik. "But I-"

"You want to know if you are being possessed!! Let's find out!" Marik raised the Rod and the thing light up like a beacon.

"Marik! NO!" Yami took control of Yugi's body and tried to stop this from happening, but he was too late. The Wadjet Eye appeared on Harry's forehead…for all of ten seconds, then Marik released him and growled "You are not possessed, I sensed no other mind occupying your body…however you do seem to have…a kind of mental hole."

"I have…a what?" Harry asked.

"It's kind of like the connection between Yami and Hikari, but weaker and less personal. I bet that is what links you and Voldemort." Marik said "It's not strong enough from him to fully possess you, but it does allow some dream sharing and emotion sharing."

"That's bad." Yami Bakura appeared beside Bakura. "If Voldemort makes that connection stronger…"

"You mean…he might be able to possess me?" Harry asked.

"At the very least he could cause some serious problems. We have to find a way to seal your mind…" Yami said "Tomb Robber, I think you should give him the Millennium Eye. It's powers are connected to the mind."

"Not in a million years!" The spirit growled. "First off, it is mine! I stole it fair and square! Second of all, it's used for reading minds, not sealing them up! It could make the problem worse, not better!"

Marik frowned "He's right. The Eye is used for making minds more open, and we want to close Harry's…but I think I know what item might work. The Millennium Ankh."

"Shadi's item?" Yami asked.

"Yeah, it can rearrange people's soul rooms. With it we can go in there and…I don't know, plug up the hole." Marik shrugged "Not sure how we would do that, but at least it will go a long way into figuring out how to help."

"How do we get this…Millennium Ankh?" Ron asked.

"Good luck, Shadi is more elusive than a snake in a vat of oil." Yami Bakura grumbled. "Believe me, I know. Besides that, why would he just give us the item? He's always got an agenda and I doubt plugging up wizard mind holes is included in that agenda."

"Well, you do have an item that detects other items!" Yami growled.

"Did I just hear the Pharaoh suggest I use my powers to steal an item?" the thief asked.

"NO! All we need to do is find him!" Yami shouted.

"Okay, okay." Hermione held up her hands. "It's a good idea, but it sounds like we won't get anything done tonight. Harry…I know this must be hard for you, but please don't shut us out."

"But I could hurt you!"

"Harry…" Bakura said "Trust me…turning people away from you in this situation is not a good idea. I know that from experience."

Harry bit his lip. He was still worried, but he could not help but admit that Bakura was right.

That night a figure crept up to Harry's bedside table, a figure wearing a white turban.

"It is time…and it has chosen you. Why I do not know…I can feel time itself is split, but this is right."

A hand placed a strangely shaped key like object on the table. It flashed once, then dimmed.

"Use it wisely."

A few rooms over the Millennium Ring's tines began to shake. They pointed towards the door, but neither the spirit nor Bakura were awake to see it.

The next day Harry Potter found the Millennium Ankh on his bedside table.

He was now a Millennium Item holder.

A/N: Am I the first one to come up with that particular twist? I have read a few other Yugioh/Harry Potter crossovers and I have yet to come across it.

Query: If you where to give Ron and Hermione the other remaining unclaimed items: either the Necklace, the Eye or the Scales, who should get which and why?


	29. Chapter 29

An Author's Note: As you might have noticed, for some reason I can't do the line things on the story document edit thing on the site. Couldn't edit anything at all for a few days...but it seems to work now...

* * *

Chapter 29

Haunted by Blue Eyes

The morning after Harry's dream and Bakura's kidnapping, Seto Kaiba was calmly sleeping…at least until a very grouchy Professor Snape banged on his door demanding to be let inside.

Truth be told, he was almost glad he had been awoken at first. He was having a very odd dream about riding in the desert with a woman. Someone was after them; someone that he was going to make sure did not get the girl…

However, this gratitude only lasted a few moments before it was consumed by exasperation.

Groaning in irritation, Kaiba rolled out of bed, put on something appropriate, and opened the door, his I'm-a-CEO-and-I-Have-Money-So-Don't-Mess-With-Me expression firmly on his face. Kaiba said nothing to Snape, he waited for the irritated looking Professor to tell him why he was here bothering him.

"Your friend Bakura has been assaulted…fortunately he survived with the aid of his little ghost friend." Snape said in a sneering tone.

Kaiba blinked "Bakura is not my friend. What are you talking about when you say 'his ghost friend'?"

"The creature he calls yami."

"…so it's real? Interesting. I always thought he was merely psychotic." Kaiba said mildly.

Snape mentally cursed. So the boy did not know about these "yamis" after all. Pity.

"Is that all?" Kaiba asked with what he thought was much patience.

"I suppose…but if you remember anything about these 'yamis', anything they might have mentioned in passing…"

Kaiba grunted and shut the door on Snape's face. There was no way he was going to tell that strange man anything.

As he turned from the door he thought he saw an indistinct translucent somebody out of the corner of his eye. He only got a glimpse of a female with bluish white hair and blue eyes, but when he turned to get a better look she was gone.

_I did not just see that_. Kaiba thought. _There was no women here. Not at all._

Pointedly not thinking about the person he was sure he did not see, Kaiba started packing to get ready for the train home tomorrow. He had just one day left in this place before he could go home and see his brother.

Kaiba spent the rest of the day wasting time and not doing much at all. He also made absolutely certain that he did not see the women anymore that day.

Nope, not at all.

* * *

Finally, after an irritating day and night (and no he did NOT have ANY dreams about a Blue-Eyes White Dragon telling him that it loved him. NOT AT ALL) Kaiba was riding the train back to Kings Cross Station. He had already phoned his limo service to meet him there. A competitive part of him was hoping that he could strut his money in front of Malfoy, who Kaiba by now hated much more then he even loathed Pegasus. It would feel good to rub the boy's nose in it. 

As he had hoped the limo was there, complete with a pair of rather burly looking bodyguards that put Crabbe and Goyle to shame, mainly because these two not only looked like Men In Black, but they also looked professional.

Kaiba noticed a man who looked a lot like Malfoy standing around the train station with an expression on his face that suggested that the rest of the world can just go ahead and kiss his shiny black shoes, thank you very much.

"There he is, Father! The Mudblood I told you about!" Malfoy looked and acted more like a whiny child running to daddy then anything else. The older man's eyes snapped to Kaiba and narrowed even more.

Kaiba laughed "So, you must be the father that this little mutt goes to for help whenever someone sneezes at him."

"I would watch my mouth if I were you. My contributions to the Minestry of Magic-"

"Heh, don't start with me. I run my own company, fool, and I think I know more about the world than you do! I don't need to kiss up to a Ministry; I own twelve islands for crying out loud! I own a worldwide franchise that brings in millions of cash to my bank accounts every single day. What do you have, really? A bunch of old dusty relics in a single old Victorian mansion? Don't make me laugh. Now out of my way before I lose my temper!" With that Kaiba shoved past the Malfoys with a contemptuous look.

Kaiba could feel Malfoy's killing glare follow him as he stepped into his limo, but Kaiba did not care.

And no, he certainly did not see the reflection of a woman in the glass of his limo.

Nope, not at all.

* * *

One flight later via Blue-Eyes White Jet, Kaiba was literally landing on the roof of his very expensive mansion (which, by the way, was not in the least bit Victorian). He was then assaulted by a pre-teen with messy black hair. 

"SETO!" Mokuba yelled as he gave his big brother a rather large hug. "I missed you! How have you been? What's the school like? Can you show me some magic?"

"I missed you too, Mokuba. Fine. The school is…old and no I can't show you magic until I'm eighteen. Sorry."

Mokuba shrugged "Aw, that's okay. Come on! It's lunch time! Let's go eat! Tell me all about…everything!"

Seto gave one of his rare genuine laughs that only his little brother really knew about and let the energetic kid drag him into their home.

He spent the rest of the evening telling Mokuba about the school. The boy was amazed and envious.

"And Yugi, Bakura and Marik are all there as well…wait…isn't that kind of strange?" Mokuba asked.

"I never really thought about that…" Kaiba shrugged.

"Well, think about it, the four of you where involved in the Battle City finals. And I don't care what you say, there was some real magic going on there. Maybe this has to do with that destiny Ishizu was talking about-"

"No Mokuba. I can accept magic now. I have seen it myself. But I won't believe in this destiny garbage. I make my own way and my own rules!"

Mokuba sighed. How did his brother become so stubborn?

That night Kaiba made some last minute adjustments to the security systems, he was not going to take any chances on security, after all what happened to Bakura could happen to him or worse to his brother. He felt a small twinge of guilt and sympathy when he thought about Bakura. Maybe he should send the boy a gift basket…or something…

Kaiba began to nod off…was that the girl he was seeing again…

_Seto…_

Huh?

_Seto…_

This was not happening.

_It's me…Seto why don't you remember?_

Remember?

_Seto, it's me!_

Who?

_Kisara_

Kisara?

He could see her. A dragon. A White Dragon.

A Blue-Eyes White Dragon.

_Please remember me, my love…_

Kaiba jerked awake. For a moment he thought he saw the women standing in front of him, giving him a mournful look.

He closed his eyes and convinced himself that he had seen nothing.

Nope, nothing at all…

* * *

A/N: Yeah, I know, it's really really short…but I felt that this was the best time to stop the chapter… 


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

A Yami Chooses

"Granger…what in Ra's name are you doing?"

Hermione looked up from her knitting to look at the two Bakura's. She had been in one of the many rooms of the house calmly making her S.P.E.W hats in piece, away from the odd looks most of the rest of her fellow magic users gave her whenever she did this. The spirit was beside his light in his translucent form, and he looked very puzzled at the calmly knitting Hermione. Obviously, something so normal as…knitting was not something that the ancient spirit thought that a witch would do.

"I'm knitting hats and things for house elves, to free them." she said defensively. She was used to be scoffed at for her cause, and expected more of the same from the moody spirit.

However, she was surprised when the spirit's eyes light up. "Really? You would help the Elder Breed?"

"What's an Elder Breed?"

In an almost excited tone the spirit launched into a brief lecture about the Elder Breed, and what he believed had happened to the elves.

Once he was done, Hermione almost leapt for joy.

"Then I AM right! The elves do deserve their freedom!"

"Indeed…however, if they are enchanted, as I believe, then we cannot free them just by making hats. We must find a way to lift the enchantments."

"Why…yes! You're right! If the elves have been brainwashed by magic…oh it would explain everything!" Hermione had not been this excited in a long time…but then again the spirit was the first person who had shown interest in what she was doing with S.P.E.W.

The normal Bakura, who had just been standing there listening for a while, spoke up for the first time "Hermione, are you really serious about this?"

"Of course I am! I started S.P.E.W. didn't I?" she said indignantly.

"You too, Yami?"

"What do you think?" the spirit growled.

"Then," Bakura sat down in a fluffy armchair across from Hermione and sighed "let's get serious here. What we are basically saying here is that there are a bunch of groups, races if you will, in the wizarding community that are being oppressed, correct?" Nods all around. "Okay, first off Hermione, if we are serious about this, we should not just promote the welfare of elves, we should be fighting for the rights off all the Elder Breed, isn't that right Yami?" the spirit nodded enthusiastically.

Hermione frowned "You are right…all that anti-werewolf legislation…and the ones about centaurs and merfolk…you are absolutely right Bakura."

"Okay. I think we really can start something here. Do either of you know anything about protest groups?" Shaking heads "I thought not…well first off we will need support. Yami, is there any way you can rally the Elder Breed behind us?"

The spirit frowned "Well…I could talk to them…it will be hard…but I think it could be done…"

"Good…we can devise strategies and all that later. The thing that really bothers me is that name. We can't go around calling ourselves S.P.E.W. I'm sorry Hermione, but it's just too…mock able…"

"What do you suggest then?" Hermione said through gritted teeth. She did not like what Bakura just said about her name choice, but it was obvious to her that he probably knew what he was talking about.

"Think of what protest groups have called themselves in the past. They call themselves things like the Black Panthers and ACT-Up and…and…"

"the KKK?" the spirit grinned "Not nice people, mind you, but not a name that you can easily mock…unless you get them about their spelling…"

Bakura sent his yami a glare "Not an example I would use…but yes. We need to think about something…intimidating. Something that will scare people like Umbridge and that Minister of yours. Something that can't be easily mocked."

"Not to mention something that the Elder Breed can get behind…" Yami Bakura said. His eyes suddenly got a strange faraway look "This all started with elves…why not use an old elf word?"

"Like what?" Hermione asked.

"Hmmmm." The spirit closed his eyes and thought for a second "Mardorunando…it means 'Redeemer of the World' in really really ancient Elvin…and that's what we want, is it not? And it's not something that the Ministry can even understand, much less mock, and the Elder Breed will know it well…"

Hermione tried out the word. It was hard to pronounce, but she liked it somehow.

"Alright…so what do we do first!" Hermione asked, putting aside her knitting tools for first time in a long while.

"We hit the library." Bakura said.

"…what?" the spirit growled.

"We," Bakura's eyes swept the room "Are going to read up on other protest groups to get ideas. We need to know what worked in the past. Muggle or no, if it works, it works."

"Right!" Hermione leaped up "Let's get going!"

* * *

"So you're saying it just…showed up?" Yugi stared at the familiar Millennium Item in Harry's hand. The poor wizard looked very puzzled, and frankly Yugi was a little surprised himself. Although Items did have a tendency to pop up in unexpected places, this was just a little to…convenient.

"So, can we use it?" Ron asked.

Yugi shifted uncomfortably "What do you think Yami?"

The spirit appeared beside Yugi "Well, obviously someone left if there for Harry…therefore it's Harry's item, correct?"

"Unless someone else can snatch it first." Marik muttered. Everyone ignored him.

"Harry, this is going to be tough for you from now on." Yami said "The Millinum Items require a strong mind and a strong spirit to control them. You must train with that thing and learn to use it properly!"

"Can you teach me?" Harry asked.

"I can give you advice, but that is all. The Item must bond with you, and you must learn from it. It can only be done on an individual basis. The Shadow Magic is not like modern magic. You can never learn it in school. You must find the strength within yourself."

Harry groaned. He could barely keep his own dreams private! How was he supposed to use a Millennium Item! This was going to be a disaster!

A pair of footsteps was heard tromping down the stairs. Yugi looked up and shouted "Bakura! Hermione! Come look at this."

The two revolutionists stopped in their tracks and came over. When he saw the Ankh Bakura groaned.

"Oh no. Another one!"

"Yep." Marik said "Harry's now an Item Holder. Fun, huh?"

"Uh…huuuuuh…" Bakura said "Do you even know how to use that?" he asked Harry.

"Umm…no."

"Oh boy…I can see the chaos now…" the young boy muttered.

"I can take it off your hands for you!" the spirit of the ring popped out and leered at Harry.

"Oh no you don't!" Hermione shouted "You are going to the library with us!"

"Oh no Hermione, it's Christmas!" Ron groaned.

"Yes, but there is so much we need to do! I've officially disbanded spew, by the way." Hermione grinned "we have a new group now…it's going to be great! I'll tell you guys later!" she then grabbed Bakura's arm and started dragging him to the door.

Yami Bakura had a choice. Stay here and plot, or go and try and free the Elder Breed.

"Awww…screw the Items!" Yami Bakura said as he turned to follow his light and Hermione.

"Yugi, did he just say what I think he said…" Marik asked in puzzlement.

"Yes, I believe he did."

"Yugi, look outside for me. Is there fire and brimstone? Has the Apocalypse finally come?"

"I don't think so Marik."

"Could have fooled me…"

* * *

At that moment, when Yami Bakura made that choice, time's river split even further. Now there was no going back.

For any of them…

* * *

A/N: I always thought that Hermione could have gone far with the house elf thing if she had some proper help and support. You can see now why I tied Yami Bakura in so close with the Elder Breed, right?

All weird elf words supplied by a website. I don't know if it is right or not…but it does sound weird enough

I don't own Harry Potter, Yugioh, or Lord of the Rings (where all good elf words come from…)


	31. Chapter 31

An Author's Note: Well at 300 reviews this is officially my most reviewed story.

This means one of two things:

One: I am getting better at this writing thing.

Two: Creative lightning has struck.

Well see what it turns out to be…

Oh, more dialogue ripped from the book, which I do not own. Nor do I own Yugioh.

* * *

Chapter 31

A Dementor Attack

Harry stared at his new Item in complete and utter exasperation.

"Come on; just try it one more time." Yugi said. The two of them were sitting across from each other. Harry was trying to learn how to use the Ankh, and failing miserably. So far Yugi had managed to block the wizard from his mind with little effort. It was starting to really make Harry mad. Even though Yugi had given up his plans on going back to Japan in order to help him out the whole situation still frustrated poor Harry.

"Maybe you should try someone without such good mind defenses." Yami Bakura bellowed from across the room. He had been furiously writing down…something for the past half hour, something that would occasionally make him burst out in evil chuckles.

It was very unnerving.

"Try Ron." Marik grinned and then ducked a flying pillow that was lobbed at him from the wizard in question. Marik had been helping the spirit out with whatever it was that he was doing, and the evil chuckles were emerging from him as well.

Harry had a feeling that it had something to do with that new group that Hermione and the two Bakuras had formed. Almost immediately Marik had joined his friends on their new crusade, although Harry suspected this was because Marik simply liked to cause trouble than anything else. The four of them had been conspiring together since the new group had been formed. In the meantime, Yami and Yugi had been trying desperately to at least get Harry into someone's soul corridor.

Whatever that was.

Harry gave a huge yawn. He was really tired. What with all the Item practicing (not to mention the persistent nightly occurrence of a certain dream), the wizard was completely and utterly pooped.

"You two better go to bed, I do NOT want to see what happens if someone tries to use an Item tired!" Yami Bakura bellowed again. "What if you two sucked this whole house into the Shadow Realm?"

"Besides, tomorrow's Christmas." Hermione said as she peered over the spirit's shoulder…why she acted like said shoulder was corporal was anyone's guess.

"It is?" Bakura said. The boy had really not been paying much attention to the calendar.

"How could you forget something like Christmas?" Ron asked.

Bakura shrugged "Never had much of an impact on my life. I DO live in Japan, after all."

"What, Japanese don't celebrate Christmas?" Ron asked.

"We do, but it's not quite as big over there as it is in the West. We just don't have the whole thousand year Christian tradition to fall back on. New Year is a bit more important to us." Bakura yawned. "It's going to be the Year of the Tiger."

"Huh?" Ron looked confused.

Yugi and Bakura stared at each other and shook their heads in exasperation.

"What about Egyptians, Marik?" Ron asked, now curious.

Marik shrugged "I lived all my life in an underground cave. This is my first Christmas anything."

"Oh…but do Muslims-"

"I'm not Islamic, Ron." Marik said with much patience.

"Oh…but I thought-"

"Most Egyptians are, but I'm not." Marik said. He did not sound offended. This relieved Ron, who did not want to end up with ants in his food.

Harry put the Ankh in his drawer and tried to get to sleep. Bakura had tried to sound nonchalant about Christmas, but Harry had his suspicions. From a few of the little comments that Bakura had made, Harry had a feeling that the other boy was in a situation similar to himself in many ways. From what he had overheard Bakura's father really did not pay that much attention to him. While Harry was not certain of the details he had seen a look similar to the one Bakura had in his eyes now.

He had seen it in a mirror.

* * *

The next morning Harry awoke to a surprised noise from Bakura.

"What in the world…" the boy gazed at the large pile of presents at the end of his bed "How…what…?"

Harry mentally winced. Once again he had a feeling that all was not right in Bakura's family life. For a brief moment Harry had flashed back to his first Christmas at Hogwarts. It had been the first time Harry had gotten Christmas presents that did not contain only his uncle's old socks.

"Hmm, this is funny…" Bakura muttered as he picked up a package "This one's from Kaiba!"

"What is it?" Harry asked. He was a bit surprised that the grouchy CEO would have gotten anyone a present.

"Cards, from the size of the package." Bakura said. He opened the package and his eyes got wide. "Wow."

Two of the cards in question was the ritual monster Reshef the Dark Being and its ritual. The other was an odd addition, a Dark Armed Dragon. Along with the three cards a note slipped out and fell on the floor. Bakura picked it up, read it and chuckled.

"What does it say?"

"This might help you improve your pathetic deck. Remember that the four of us represent all the duelist community at that school and you better not make us look bad. These should help. Don't embarrass us.'"

"Kaiba." Yami Bakura appeared and rolled his eyes "Can't do something nice for a person without a stupid excuse."

"Hey, looks like I got on too." Yugi said as he unwrapped a small package. "Cool! A Dark Eradicator Warlock, a Magical Blast spell card and…wow look at this, Bakura!"

Yami Bakura stared at the card and burst out laughing "Light and Darkness Dragon huh? Hahahahahaha!"

Yami appeared "Just what is so funny?"

Yami Bakura kept laughing.

"Oh, I am so seeing a pattern here…" Marik had found a similar package amongst his presents. "Let's see what moneybags did to me… Great Maju Garzett, The End of Anubis and…another dragon, Dark Horus…man he really is dragon obsessed, isn't he?"

_I'm not so sure it's just about dragon obsession_ Yami Bakura thought _Despite what he believes, Seto Kaiba was indeed a High Priest once…perhaps he is sensing something that we cannot, and while he would never admit it out loud perhaps he is preparing for something…_

As if to confirm this thought Harry himself found a similar package from Kaiba, only this one was a bit bigger (probably due to the fact that Kaiba had stuffed more card in). It actually looked like a kind of homemade starter pack, even though Harry thought Kaiba had just thrown random cards in.

At least, Harry hoped that Kaiba had just thrown random cards in.

"What makes him think I want to play?" Harry grumbled, even though a part of him had been interested in it ever since the demonstration. However, he somehow felt that he had been pressured into something, and he did not like it.

However, these thoughts were shoved into the background due to a rather excited Yugi landing on his bed offering to help him build a deck. Seeing as how Yugi seemed so enthused about the idea Harry agreed.

After all, it was not like HE was going to be participating in Shadow Games.

Right?

* * *

That afternoon almost the entire household went to visit the still sick Arthur Weasley, although to be honest the three duelists went out of sheer curiosity alone.

Bakura, however, could not really concentrate, his mind wandered a bit. He had a tendency to have a wandering mind at this time of year. Mainly they wandered towards his father and if the man even remembered his only son's existence. Even Yami Bakura's slight exclamation over Mr. Weasley's werewolf neighbor did not faze him.

Until Mr. Weasley said something about stitches.

"Do you mean to tell me," Mrs. Weasley's voice even shook Bakura out of his little stupor "that you have been messing about with Muggle remedies?"

"Not messing about, Molly, dear," Arthur started stuttering an explanation, while everyone else edged towards the nearest door.

/Oh the man is doomed, look at that nose flare!/ Yami Bakura said gleefully.

/You are a sadist, Yami./

/And proud of it!/

/Let's follow Harry to the tea./

/Why?/

/Do you want to stay around and see Pompeii reenacted?/

/Well…/

/Do you want to be near the fires of Pompeii?

/Let's go have tea, Bakura./

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, THAT'S THE GENERAL IDEA?" Mrs. Weasley's bellow echoed throughout the corridor as Bakura made his escape along with everyone else.

"Typical Dad," Ginny shook her head "Stitches…I ask you…"

"They aren't that bad, I had fourteen in this arm. They DO work…" Bakura shrugged.

Ron stared at Bakura with a kind of horrified awe "You've had your SKIN sewed together?"

"Well, seeing as how wizards don't seem to share healing magic with 'muggles' he did not have much of a choice now did he?" Marik grumbled.

"I still blame you for that." Bakura glared at Marik.

"Oh for the love of Ra!" Marik shouted "Are you going to throw that in my face until we die!"

"Yep." Bakura said.

When the group encountered Lockheart Bakura's mind had gone back to wandering again. Why had his father kept his distance? Why did he refuse to see him? Was he afraid of Bakura?

…or did he just hate Bakura?

/You really should not be dwelling on this. Your father is an ass, pure and simple. And besides that, you have not even noticed that Longbottom boy is here./

/He is?/

Bakura snapped back to reality long enough to register that Neville was indeed here with an elderly lady that must be his grandmother.

She was just in the process of saying "Haven't you told you friends about your parents, Neville?"

/Huh?/

/I don't know, Bakura./ the spirit confessed.

"Well, it's nothing to be ashamed of!" the women continued, and Bakura suddenly felt intense dislike for her "You should be proud, Neville, proud! They didn't give up their health and their sanity so their only son would be ashamed of them, you know!"

"I'm not ashamed." The expression on the poor kid's face was similar to that of a kicked puppy.

"Well, you've got a funny way of showing it!" the women proclaimed proudly to the room in general "My son and his wife were tortured into insanity by You-Know-Who's followers."

Bakura stiffened /What?/

/Bakura…/

He was flashing back. He could see the Death Eater. See the magically heated iron as it descended on him. When Neville's mother emerged with her sunken eyes and haggard appearance Bakura lost it completely. He gave a small, horrified cry and ran out like Anubis himself was after him.

"What a disrespectful little runt!" Neville's grandmother sniffed.

Marik snarled "No he is not! You're children weren't the only ones hurt by Death Eaters, you know!" the Egyptian whirled around to follow his friend.

* * *

Bakura had run straight out of the hospital and into a dark alley, where he simply collapsed in terror.

/Yami…yami…if you hadn't…oh God that could have been me! It could have been me in there!/

Yami Bakura appeared in spirit form. "It's okay…Bakura they can't hurt you anymore! I took care of them…oh Light don't cry!" The normally hostile spirit suddenly did something so shocking it must truly have been the Apocalypse, he attempted to hug Bakura.

Neither of them noticed how cold and dark the alley was getting.

Until it was too late.

A creature that looked like death itself glided towards the two. Yami Bakura finally noticed and rose to meet them, but the spirit was suddenly assaulted by horrible memories. Memories of his village, his dead wife, and the friends he had lost. He was vaguely aware of Bakura screaming beside him, but for once in his life he could do nothing about it.

Marik, unaware of the thing in the alley, ran straight in. It was like being hit in the face by bad memories. Memories of the Tomb Keepers initiation…and other things his father did to him.

The Dementor glided even closer…


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32

Back to Hogwarts

* * *

Yami Bakura seemed to collapse in on himself. He could hear his family's screams as they died, his wife telling him to go away because she was going to distract the guards, the Pharaoh…the Pharaoh…

And another voice. A dark slithering one he had all but forgotten.

_Mine…_

_You are all mine…it hurts, yes? _

_You know who to blame? _

_There is no other way. _

_Kill him. Kill the Pharaoh. _

_You cannot deny me. _

_I make the pain go away. Give in to me. Give in and it won't hurt anymore. _

_You are mine._

"NO! Get out! Go away!" the spirit screamed.

Bakura heard voices as well, but he could name these:

_I'm going to Egypt. I'll be back_…his father…who never came back. Never.

_Both vaporized on impact, no bodies_. The cop at the scene of his mother and sister's death.

_You're creepy, get away from me!_ Who was that again? Some random student. He did not remember.

_Now you will never take me off_. His yami.

_I'm going to make you my permanent host_. But…he was not like that anymore!

_Be quiet!_ Wasn't he?

The Dementor stopped and seemed to look from Yami Bakura to Bakura, as if it could not decide who to eat first.

The pause gave Marik enough time to stumble out of the alley. He could still hear his father's hateful voice, but it was not as loud as what the Dementor's other two victims were hearing.

Coming to a decision the creature leaned down and almost gently took the normal Bakura's face in hands. It was just in the process of lifting Bakura's head up when another voice echoed, but this voice was real.

"Dark Magic Attack!"

A blast of magic struck the thing and flung it into a wall. It seemed to shudder for a second.

"Again! Attack again!" Yami was standing in the alleyway, the Dark Magician beside him with a frown on his face. The Dark Magician leaped forwards and struck out with his staff. The dark magic blasted the Dementor to pieces.

Yami ran up to Bakura and separated himself from Yugi, appearing in spirit form. While Yugi tried to pick up a semi-conscious Bakura, Yami tried to help the other spirit (which was a little awkward considering the fact that neither could really touch each other).

Harry had run out of the hospital after them just in time to see the Dementor get vaporized. He stood there in amazement. He had always thought that a Patronus was the only thing that could destroy a Dementor, but here Yugi had just blasted one away with a card!

However, he sure did not want to stick around here. He did not forget what the Ministry tried to do to him when HE tried to defend himself just a few months ago. Who knew how they would react to a card that could come to life and attack something? Especially a card with a "Dark Magic Attack."

"Yugi, we have got to get them out of here!" he said.

Yugi nodded.

Harry tried to focus on getting Bakura and Marik back to the hospital and safety. He had no doubt in his mind why that Dementor had been there, though.

They had been after him.

* * *

Once they where back at the headquarters Harry practically had all three of the duelists stuff themselves with as much chocolate as he could find. He was not sure if they should tell anyone about the attack, mainly because they would then have to explain about the Dark Magician. Harry could tell that none of them wanted to tell anyone about the Dark Magicians arrival.

So Harry kept quiet for them.

* * *

Later that night, the three duelists sat in the darkness of their room, talking quietly in Japanese.

"I heard his voice, the voice of the Dark Magician." Yami said "His name…he called himself Mahad."

"Mahad…oh great!" Yami Bakura moaned.

"You recognize the name?" Yami asked.

"…um…yeah…" the former thief growled "he was one of your guardians back in Egypt.

"And, Thief, are you going to tell the Pharaoh who killed me?" the Dark Magician appeared with a snarl.

"Why not?" the dark spirit smirked "I did! But seeing as you helped kill my wife and unborn child, not to mention my entire village, I think I was entitled to a bit of revenge!"

"You were entitled to nothing! It is the right of the Pharaoh to pass judgment upon the wicked! Like it or not your village was filled with nothing but thieves and murderers and-"

"Oh get off your high horse, wizard." Gorneel appeared behind Bakura "The only reason people become thieves is because the nobility steals the bread straight from their mouths!"

"You lying-"

"Um, excuse me!" Marik said "Here's a question: Why are you standing here talking? Last time I checked you were cards!"

"I have always protected the Pharaoh!" the Dark Magician proclaimed proudly.

"And I have always been by my little brother's side; the card only allows us to project our spirits to you, much like a Millennium Item." Gorneel said.

"But I just gave the Felgrand Dragon card to Bakura a few months ago!" Marik protested.

"That is the reason I never could appear before." The dragon shrugged.

"Okay, but why have you never spoken before, Mahad?" Yugi asked "All the times I played you…"

"I…am uncertain" the magician replied. "But the last duel that we played, when I faced off against that deviant dragon over there" Gorneel huffed at Mahad "I felt a surge of power, and then you could hear my voice."

"The duel disks!" Bakura (the normal one's) eyes widened "The magic that Kaiba used! It must have done this."

"You are probably right. The power I felt was unlike the kind we had in Ancient Egypt, but still very powerful. Perhaps it was a combination of this new magic, Shadow Magic and old sorcerer ability. After all, it was the High Priest Seto's hand that did this to the duel disks." Mahad said.

"High Priest?" Yami asked.

Mahad was about to reply when Gorneel growled "OH NO! You are not giving him your noble biased account of what happened!"

"And would you rather give him your slated story?" Mahad growled.

"Umm, why don't we save the memory sharing for when we are NOT yawing and tired?" Marik asked.

"FINE!" the two duel monsters continued to glare at one another.

"Yeah, let's go to bed." Bakura said with a yawn.

The duel monsters disappeared, and the duelists slept.

Though not that easily.

* * *

"Yugi, Marik, Bakura? Could the three of you come with me, please?" Lupin stuck his head through the doorway to their bedroom. It was a few days after the attack, and so far the three duelists and Harry had said nothing to anyone about it.

The three duelists followed Lupin to Buckbeack's den, there waiting for them was Dumbledore.

"Great, what do you want?" Yami Bakura appeared and sneered at the elderly wizard.

"Peace my friend, I merely came to ask you for a favor." Dumbledore said "Seeing as how you have lived in Hogwarts with few mishaps, I assume that you are benevolent."

"Well I am." Yami said, appearing by Yugi's side "Can't say the same for the Tomb Robber here though. Said Tomb Robber snorted.

"You know that Voldemort has returned, and you know that Harry is connected to Voldemort?" Dumbledore asked.

"If you have something to say, say it!" Yami Bakura hissed.

"I would ask you to use your powers to help protect Harry." Dumbledore said.

"How insulting." Yami growled "Last time I checked Harry was my friend. Are you suggesting that I would do anything else if he were in trouble?"

Yami Bakura however, looked thoughtful "Tell me, wizard, what is your stance on the rights of other beings?"

"I have been a supporter of the rights of what many call 'half-humans' for a very long time, as well as the rights of muggles." The wizard said.

"First, wizard, they are called the Elder Breed. They are nothing less than that. And second…I must speak with you alone!"

The others left the room, giving them some privacy.

No one knew exactly what Dumbledore and Yami Bakura talked about. All they knew was that afterwards Yami Bakura came back looking like he had just won a Millennium Item…

* * *

Finally, the time had come to go back to Hogwarts.

Unfortunately the way to get there was by a contraption known as the Knight Bus.

Yami Bakura was not happy, as usual. It was bad enough that the thing would jerk around like a ship on a high wind. There was one thing that made the ride almost unbearable to the yami.

/I swear if that Stan Whatshisname speaks one more time he won't have to worry about Tonks sending him to oblivion, I will do it myself!/ Yami Bakura bellowed in Bakrua's mind.

Bakura found himself half agreeing, that boy was the most annoying person they had ever meet…and they knew Duke Devlin.

Finally the killer device made it to Hogsmead without Yami Bakura sending anyone to the Shadow Realm.

/I have never been so happy to see this place!/ Bakura said as they approached the castle.

/So am I, Bakura, so am I. But be prepared for tomorrow, for then the fun will start!/

For once Bakura shared in his yami's glee.

/We have to start small, and Hogwarts is the perfect place! Just you watch!/

Yami Bakura laughed like a loon.


	33. Chapter 33

An Author's Note: I do not own Yugioh, Harry Potter or Animal Farm...

Chapter 33

Subversive Literature

* * *

As soon as they had gotten back to school Bakura's first priority was to track down Luna Lovegood. He had a question that only she could answer.

Finally he found hear. Fortunately it was outside near the lake. No one was around, and it was unlikely that anyone would hear what Bakura wanted to ask. If anyone knew about this plan than the whole thing could be ruined. Although he did technically have Dumbledore on his side there was still the Ministry and Umbridge to consider.

"Luna, I have a question for you." He said in what he hoped was a casual manner.

"Yes?" she asked as she stared intently at a butterfly. She was trying to determine if it was a true butterfly or something else. A Snaork, maybe?

"How does your father create so many copies of _The Quibbler_? I mean, is there some sort of spell he uses to make duplicates…"

Luna tore her eyes away from the butterfly (if it was a butterfly) to latch onto Bakura "Why?" she asked.

"Don't spread this around, but…"

A few moments later Luna's laughter rang across the lake.

* * *

That night:

"Okay, and what was this supposed to be again?" Fred gave the…thing on the wall of Umbridge's classroom a speculative glance.

"Ever seen a political cartoon?" Bakura asked.

"No."

"Well, this is going to be…a really big one." Fred could not believe it, but the look on Bakura's face almost resembled the smirk of his yami…but that could not be possible, as Yami Bakura was floating a few inches above their heads.

"I just have to ask, while this is going to be fun, is there a purpose to this?" George gestured at the wall in question.

"Yes, we are trying to make Umbridge angry."

"Why?"

"Because the angrier ignorant people get, the more loud and stupid they sound. The more loud and stupid they sound the more reasonable and attractive the opposing argument looks. We want to get support for this, and we have to start small…with this school." Bakura said.

George shook his head "I hope you know what you are doing, Bakura…"

"Trust me, he does." Yami Bakura said. "This will be the coming out party for the Mardorunando!"

* * *

The next morning people woke up to find mysterious newsletters sitting in the common rooms and scattered about the tables in the Great Hall.

The title page of the newsletters read thusly:

**The Voice of the Ancients**

Informing the Ignorant with the Truth

A Product of the Mardorunando

Beneath this typing was what looked like a drawing of a diamond with a strange leaf pattern entwined around it. A black bird, a raven or a crow, sat atop the crystal with what looked like an eye in its beak. Under it was the legend: Those Who Do Not Learn Lessons from History are Doomed to Repeat It.

Inside the newsletters was this statement:

What the Ministry Does Not Know…Nor Would Want You To Know

The Ministry of Magic, and indeed the entire wizarding world, is unaware and ignorant of an ancient and powerful magical history right under their noses, the history of the Elder Breed. For centuries these proud beings have hidden in the shadows, oppressed by the laws of wizards, or to afraid of death or worse at the hands of man. The Mardorunando, which derives its name for the ancient Elvin word "Redeemer of the World", is proud to bring you The Voice of the Ancients. We will work hard to inform you of the reality and ways of the Elder Breed, so that you are no longer in the dark concerning the noble races we share this globe with.

In the spirit of this, we shall also inform you of the achievements of your own kind, which you seem extremely unaware of. I am referring to, of course, the non-magical people commonly called "muggles". Despite the fact that they have no magic, a muggle is still a human being, and like it or not, a human is a human is a human. There are many things that you can learn from the muggle.

A word to the Ministry: if wizards continue to live in complete isolation they will fall. They will die off and vanish in the Shadows. Know, that if you do not change your ways you will pay the ultimate price.

Your editor,

The King of Thieves.

The first article, dealt with what the Elder Breed was. It was a short overview explaining what qualified as Elder Breed, why they where called this, and why it was important for humans to acknowledge these things. This took up a page of the newsletter, and it was a whole section dedicated to the Elder Breed.

The second half the newsletter involved muggles. It was an article entitled: Great Muggle Achievements no one Bothered to Tell You About. Actually it was more of a list, and it included things like the American moon landing, Einstein's discoveries, evolution, dark matter, string theory, the subway system, nuclear power, videogames, great literature, the Internet, motion pictures and…the dual disk and other forms of holographic technology. At the very bottom the audience was assured that the next installments would tackle these subjects in greater detail.

Responses varied depending on the people reading it:

Malfoy and other like minded individuals instantly tried to set any and all copies of The Voice aflame.

Pure blooded wizards who did not share Malfoy's views just kind of stared at the newsletter in bemusement.

Ravenclaws and others like them practically went into thralls of joy.

Muggle born wizards looked and kind of nodded at the pro muggle parts.

Several people actually believed, or were willing to listen, to what was being said. Before breakfast was over the Mardorunando had about an eighth of the student population on their side.

The teachers also had various responses:

When Hagrid saw giants listed as Elder Breed he almost teared up with his happiness.

McGonagall looked and pursed her lips. She did not like the tone or the method, though the information was interesting.

Flintwick seemed to find the entire thing extremely funny, and could not stop chuckling about it.

Snape studied the newsletter. He studied it very long and very hard. No one knew precisely what that expression was on his face…but then again they had never seen an approving look on Snape before (inwardly Snape hated the Ministry and especially Umbridge, and he like the fact that this paper would cause a headache for both).

Dumbledore just looked thought the paper, being careful to act nonchalant about the whole deal.

Umbridge looked like she was ready to hang the writers, especially this "King of Thieves."

To no one's surprise, a new Degree went up banning both the newsletter and the Mardorunando.

Which, of course, made supporters all the more eager to join…

* * *

The next surprise, and the second phase of Bakura's "Mardorunando Coming Out Party" revealed itself when Umbridge walked into her first class, which happened to be the fifth year Gryffindor. She was so agitated about the newsletter that she did not notice what was drawn on the wall behind her. However, when she noticed that her students eyes where glued to the wall she turned around and beheld the icing on the cake.

It was, to put it simply, a huge political cartoon like the kind you see in a newspaper literally muraled onto her wall. It depicted the Minister of Magic strangling a goblin to death. In the background was a cartoonishly ugly version of Umbridge herself with a look of sinister joy on her face. In the background was a gang of Death Eaters dancing on the dead bodies of centaurs, giants, merpeople and other creatures. There where even a few humans, a few meant to be muggles. Above the scene were the words: All Animals are created equal, and at the bottom was: But some Animals are more equal than others.

Umbridge turned red, then white. Her whole body shook with rage. She raised her wand and bellowed "_Scourgify!_"

It did not work.

Umbridge turned to the class and said through gritted teeth "No one move or else." She then marched out the door.

Babbling erupted throughout the class.

"Did you see her face?"

"Brilliant!"

"You think it was that King of Thieves bloke?"

"Had to have been!"

"It's GREAT!"

The babbling died down as Umbridge stalked back in, followed by Professors Flitwick, Snape and McGonagall. All three of them stared at the cartoon. It was clear that the Charms professor was having a hard time keeping the gales of laughter from erupting. Snape looked, for the first time, happy and ready to laugh. McGonagall had finally given up the Ice Queen act and smirked.

"Very artistic." She commented.

"Clean. It. Up." Umbridge demanded.

Snape grunted something about searching his shelves and left the room at almost a trot. Silence reigned for five seconds…then laughter, almost hysterical, erupted from outside the room.

_I never knew that he could laugh_…Harry thought.

Four thirty minutes spells where hurled at the cartoon, but nothing worked. Finally, Umbridge tried to get the class to return to their book studies.

She tried to ignore the fact that, after they had left the classroom, both Flintwick and McGonagall joined Snape in hysterics.

* * *

A/N: I don't know who orginally said that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it, but I did not. I thought it was relevent and a good slogan for them... 


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter 34

Interrogated

Umbridge spent the rest of the day scrutinizing every student for possible clues as to the identities of the Thief King and his cohorts. She interrogated, threatened, searched and offered rewards in order to get the information she wanted. She dragged the students she thought the most likely suspects into her pink den of horrors to be questioned.

Unfortunately, the people she felt was the most likely responsible were Harry and his friends…

* * *

Harry was first.

He had to admit that he was a bit nervous when Umbridge dragged him to the Dungeon of Pink Lace and Kitties to be interrogated. However he was determined not to rat Bakura out to Umbridge. While he was not active in this new group he would never betray Hermione or his new friends like that.

Never.

"Now Harry, dear." She said in her mock sweet voice "I know that a cleaver boy like you must have some clue as to the identity of this…" she gestured at a copy of The Voice "miscreant."

"Not a clue…Professor." Harry gritted the last word out.

"Come now, I know that you and I have had our…issues…" she said in a voice that Harry supposed was supposed to be pleasant. "But surely you must see how dangerous this kind of thinking is?"

"No, not really." Harry said. His hand was in his pocket and he was fingering the Ankh. He truly wished he knew how to use it now. Maybe he could do that rearranging of the soulrooms that Yugi kept blathering about?

"We can't have dangerous half-human monsters just traipsing around doing what they please!" Umbridge said "The Ministry's laws are there to protect us from those horrible monsters!"

"Like Hagrid?" Harry said with narrowed eyes.

"Surely you must see the danger? That…creature is as dangerous as the rest of them, what with those beasts he brings into the class!"

"Hagrid is a great man." Harry said. He was not angry, he was beyond enraged. He wanted to see this evil toad woman squashed. His voice may have been even, but what he really wanted to do was take his Ankh and shove it into Umbridge's eye. Somehow he restrained himself. "And whoever the King of Thieves is he is on the right track. You, Professor, are the one who is dangerous."

Umbridge leaned forwards, her bulbous noise inches from his own "Tell me who he is and I will restore your Quidditch privileges." She said with a smirk.

"I. Don't. Know." Harry said firmly. He felt like he had swallowed lava. This…monster knew how much he loved Quidditch and was trying to use that love against him and his friends! It made him sick and disgusted.

What was worse…was that for approximately ten seconds…he was tempted.

Umbridge leaned back "I thought I had taught you not to tell lies, Potter. Perhaps a few more nights will help refresh you memory. Now get out."

Harry got up to leave "Have a nice day…Napoleon." He muttered.

It was probably a good thing that Umbridge did not hear him.

* * *

Marik was next.

After passing though the threshold of the door the young Egyptian fell to his knees and shrieked "Mercy! Mercy!! Mercy, oh Inquisitor!"

"Stop that and tell me who the King of Thieves is!" Umbridge said, keeping a fair distance between herself and Marik in case the loon decided to attack.

"Forgive me, for I hath sinned!" Marik said, his eyes firmly on the wall.

"So you do know who he is!" Umbridge said.

"Lo, I hath lusted after the flesh of females on thirteen occasions! The flesh of males on five occasions!" Umbridge eyes when wide as she figured out what that HAD to mean "I hath partaken of the scampi shrimp, the pork and the unleveled bread on seven occasions, coveted my neighbors property about four point five billion times, I hath had several thousand gods before you and worshiped upon the alter of them nine trillion times, I hath dishonored my father every day of my life-"

Umbridge had basically figured out that she was being mocked and proceeded to kick Marik out of her door. Marik, who could barely contain his laughter, starting spouted a few Hail Mary's for good measure…okay to be fair he did not really know what a Hail Mary was so he just shouted the phrase "Hail Mary" all the way to the door.

Once he was out Umbridge breathed a sigh of relief.

* * *

Ron was next. Like Harry he did not really consider himself a part of the little resistance group, but he was not about to tell Umbridge anything either.

"I hope you realize, that as a prefect, it is your duty to report any misbehavior to the teachers?" Umbridge said, as if she were talking to an idiot.

Ron shrugged "I know."

"So…if you know anything about this…"

Ron, who did not want to stay here any longer, the pink was giving him a headache, nodded and said "If I knew anything I would tell you." It was a blatant lie, but Umbridge, still a bit shaken from Marik's display, let her newest victim go.

Thankful that this had not gone on for too long, Ron was in the process of escaping when Umbridge gave her parting shot "It would, after all, be a shame if your father where to suddenly…fall of favor with the Ministry…"

It was a good thing that Ron had his back to Umbridge, if she had been facing him his face would probably had revealed all.

* * *

Next was Yugi. And, at the advice of Marik, he had a plan…

"Tell me who the King of Thieves is?"

"Huh?" Yugi, who actually did have a pretty thick accent when he was speaking English, had managed to somehow thicken it into something that resembled the famous Asian stereotype. "Me no understand." He stated, and tried not to grin as Yami laughed in the background of his head.

"Tell me who wrote this!" Umbridge shoved the paper under his nose.

"No understandy Engrish that good." Yugi stated. In his mind he was thinking _Do not grin, do not grin, do not grin…_

"Tell me who wrote this you stupid little midget!"

"Huh? No speaky the Engrish."

Ten minutes later Umbridge gave up. She had already decided that she hated foreigners…

* * *

Hermione's interview basically was the same as Harry's and Ron's. She told Umbridge nothing and acted as if she was not involved in the resistance at all.

"Are you sure you know nothing?"

"I don't…but honestly I don't see what the big deal is. I mean, it's not like it is hurting anyone." To her amusement, Hermione did note that Umbridge seemed rather peeved. Probably due to Marik and Yugi…

"It is a good thing you are not in the Ministry, girl. Half humans cannot be trusted, and they certainly should not be allowed to run around causing chaos." Umbridge face was picture of ugliness.

"Well, I don't know anything, so can I go now?"

"Fine…but if you see anything suspicious do tell me."

"Right." Hermione said, but inwardly she thought _I would rather eat a cockroach._

* * *

Bakura gave Umbridge a puzzled look. With an inquiring tone he said (in Japanese) "Your face is the face of a newly squashed toad."

"Speak English!"

_"You look like a lump of dog turds."_

"If you do not speak a language that I understand…"

"Your mother was a snake and your father was a bum. You resemble a pile of swamp muck. Everyone here despises you and you are the most ignorant evil woman I have ever seen in my life. Do go away and stick your head in a crocodile's mouth."

Umbridge stood up and pointed at the door "Get out!" she growled.

"May you rot in whatever hell Westerner's believe in." Bakura said as he went out the door.

As soon as he had left Umbridge let her head fall onto the desk.

She really hated foreigners. Especially people from any place that could be described as "east"…

* * *

As soon as he left the room Bakura found himself with a certain Egyptian's arm slung on his shoulders. Yugi stood a few feet away with a grin on his face.

"I never knew that could be so much fun!" he said, his smile growing wider.

"It's always fun to torment that woman. Makes life so interesting!" Yami Bakura appeared "I am proud of you, Bakura. I never knew that you could taunt like that!"

Bakura shrugged "It helped that she doesn't know Japanese…"he said.

"You know Marik, between you and my yami we might end up driving that women to the nuthouse."

"Your right…oh the poor nuthouse! Whatever shall we do for the poor nuthouse!" Marik said.

"I would suggest the Shadow Realm instead." Yami said, appearing with a smirk "But she might give those poor monsters indigestion."

Yami Bakura jumped back in shock. "Pharaoh! That was actually amusing! You actually amused me!"

"Oh great, my life is now complete!" Yami said.

* * *

That night at the dinner table, Umbridge made the following announcement.

"This paper and it's contents will not be tolerated. Such lies are dangerous, not only to the Ministry, but to you as well. Half humans" Umbridge spared a glace at Hagrid "are never to be trusted and should be kept in line with extreme force. The law is there to protect us. The Ministry is here to protect us. Do not get caught up in this group! When they are found they will be punished harshly and immediately. If you have any information do tell me and I will insure that this…Morwhatever shall be put to justice!"

/Oh bring it on you fat ugly bitch!/ Yami Bakura thought, and once again he and Bakura were in complete agreement. /Bring it on!/

* * *

A/N: I know nothing really happened in this chapter, but hopefully you got a few laughs from it… 


	35. Chapter 35

Chapter 35

The Gathering of the Elder Breed

* * *

Yugi groaned at the homework in front of him: List the jinxes should be used when faced with a werewolf. Umbridge again. While she did not like the idea of students practicing the stupid jinxes she made it very clear who and what they should be used on. So far it had been Elder Breed after Elder Breed after Elder Breed. 

It was highly annoying.

"Think we have the witch scared?" Yami Bakura asked through his light. He did not dare show up in his incorporeal form in a crowded library. The Item holders had learned that yamis could be seen by wizards like regular ghosts, and explaining a grouchy yami to anyone would be…dangerous.

"I do hope so," Marik grinned "I hate her."

"Well, by the time I am done she will be running out of this school begging to let into the Shadow Realm!" Yami Bakura said nastily.

"You aren't going to-?" Yugi asked with a gulp. He did not like the thought of violence, even against one as vile as Umbridge.

"No, the Shadows are far too good for her!" the spirit growled.

"Hey look, here comes Harry." Marik pointed at a very shaken looking Harry, who made a beeline for Ron and Hermione "What's up with him?"

Yugi shrugged and shut his book. He was not going to get anything done, so he might as well go and see what was bothering Harry. Marik and Bakura, for lack of anything better to do, followed.

He got there just in time to hear Harry say "I don't like Occlumency much…"

"Occlumency, what's that?" Yugi asked. 

"Basically Snape gets to poke holes in my mind every week." Harry groaned. "But no one is supposed to know, I'm supposed to tell people I have Remedial Potions."

/Honestly, Potions is not that hard!/ Bakura muttered to his yami.

/Not to you, but I think that our friend Harry here has a normal teenager disease, Bad Teacheritis./

/Huh?/

/Say what you want about him as a person, but Snape is not a good teacher. Too harsh./

/Well, this is a first, never thought you would say there was such a thing as too harsh!/

/You can't teach and intimidate your students at the same time. That's not a good way to learn./ the yami replied. /Now be quiet, I have to talk to Hermione./

"Hey, I need you to come with me, both of you." Yami Bakura looked at both Hermione and Marik.

"What for?" Marik asked with a narrowed look.

"We need to start making some more Elder Breed allies, and there is only one way to do that. But first, we need to get to the forest…"

* * *

So it was that Hermione and Marik found themselves following Bakura into the forest.

Looking for werewolves.

"Why are we doing this, again?" Hermione asked. She was not even going to go into the rules they were breaking. She had basically figured out that Yami Bakura only paid attention to rules when he felt he needed to pay attention to them.

"The Elder Breed have a…process if you will, called the Gathering. They meet and discuss whatever issues they might have. It's not an annual thing; it's basically called whenever enough of them feel that it needs to be called. We are going to try to set one up to get support."

"How long is this likely to take?" Marik asked.

"A year…if we are lucky." Yami Bakura said.

"A YEAR!" Marik shouted.

"HUSH! Yes a year. Or maybe more. Remember we are dealing with several different races all with their own customs. That is why we are starting with werewolves. They are the easiest to talk with." Yami Bakura replied.

"I didn't know werewolves were orgainized." Hermoine said "Everyone says-"

"Your average wizard werewolf is almost always what they call a Bitten." Yami Bakura explained "As opposed to someone who is born a werewolf, a Bitten of course does not know how to contact a Pack. Because of this they don't really know how to control themselves. That is why so many of the ones you have met are in such a bad situation. They have never been taught how to live as a werewolf should."

"Why don't these other werewolves help them?" Hermione asked.

"Because they are set up much like a wolf pack or a primitive tribe." Yami Bakura replied "They will not help a Bitten unless he joins the Pack. But since they usually don't know that the Packs exist…well you get the idea."

"Umm, guys." Marik's eyes darted from side to side "I see eyes!"

Sure enough, they where surrounded by a ring of slanted yellow eyes that glared at them balefully. 

Werewolves.

Yami Bakura bowed and said "Greetings, oh mighty Pack! I am the spirit of the Thief King Bakura! My allies and I have come to speak to your leader."

A snarling voice echoed through the trees. "The Pack has heard from the thestral warriors that the Thief King had returned. However, we of the Pack need proof. Demonstrate your powers as the King to us or face our wrath."

"Name you challenge and I will perform it."

"On the tallest tower of the castle there is a weathervane. The roofs leading to it are slick and hard to climb. Bring us the weathervane as proof of your skill. You may not use magic of any sort. The two you have brought with you will stay here. If you fail at this task they will be shredded."

"I accept."

"Oh now wait a minute!" Marik bellowed "Tomb Robber!"

"Trust me." Yami Bakura said as he speed off into the night.

"Some days I really hate him." Marik muttered as the werewolves drew closer.

However it only took five minutes and then Yami Bakura was back, a weathervane in his hand, not even winded.

"I hate you." Marik stated as Yami Bakura dropped the item on the ground.

"Why? I did it didn't I?"

"You left us!" Marik growled.

"I came back."

"Oh for the love of Ra!" Marik shook his head.

Hermione did not say a word, she was too busy looking at teeth. Sharp pointy teeth.

"You have indeed demonstrated the skills of the Thief King. We are willing to believe you for the moment. However, if you have deceived us you will die." The werewolf voice stated. "Our leader will be here in a moment."

"Do they always threaten people?" Hermione whispered in Yami Bakura's ear.

"Until they like you, yes." Yami Bakura replied.

Just then a huge black werewolf stepped into the clearing with a growl. He had to be almost as big as Hagrid, his furry shoulders dwarfing the wizards and making them feel very small. He had obviously been in a few fights in his life, the scars on his muzzle and legs where proof of that. He glared down at the humans with a healthy amount of contempt.

"I am Lord Saberfang, leader of the Forbidden Forest Pack. State your business before me, but do not waste my time."

"I come on behalf of a new group, Great Lord." Yami Bakura said "A group dedicated on stopping such wizard atrocities as the werewolf laws and all laws that restrict or hamper the Elder Breed. We plan on helping such creatures as the house elves and freeing them from enslavement, and making it no longer necessary for noble creatures like yourselves to hide from wizards. I have come to ask your support."

"Pretty words, Thief King, but our kind has learned form experience that humanity will never give us anything unless we have the teeth to back it up. We once had the teeth and called it the Shadow, but it is gone. Will you give us back our teeth, Thief?" The werewolf shook his head "You cannot. None can. What you ask for is too much."

"Lord Saberfang, of course I would not ask you to make a decision now, I merely state what I wish for the future. I believe this is a matter than should be settled by a Gathering. Am I correct?"

The werewolf seemed to think for a bit. "Indeed, if you can get at least ten other races to agree, I will attend a Gathering. But know, little human, that next time we meet I expect you to tell me how to find the teeth. Think about that before your eyes get to big."

"Thank you, o mighty one." Yami Bakura bowed again.

"Hmmp," the werewolf turned to go, but stopped for a second "Two more things, what is your little pack called?"

"The Mardorunando."

"An elf word?...fitting." Saberfang growled "My last question…do you remember Runeclaw?'

"Yes." Yami Bakura said.

"Who was he?"

"He was my son." Yami Bakura said with a stony look.

"Hehehehe, either you are the genuine thing…or you have done you research well. I will see you at the Gathering, human." 

With that the werewolf vanished into the trees, a crashing sound was heard as the rest of the pack followed him.

"Your son?" Hermione asked.

"Not literately. I raised him, though. Like Gorneel raised me." Yami Bakura shrugged "Nice little werewolf."

"Tomb Robber…what did he mean by his teeth?" Marik asked "Seems to me he had a fine set right there!"

Yami Bakura smirked "I would have thought you would have figured that one out. He was referring to the Shadow Realm…of course."

* * *

When Bakura and Hermione finally got back to the common room Ron was waiting for them.

"We have a problem." He said.

"What is it?" Hermoine asked.

"It…" Ron gulped "It was Harry. He had another of those vision thingagummys…he…" another gulp "he said that You-Know-Who was happy. The happiest he had been in a long time."

/That's bad…/ Bakura said to his dark.

Yami Bakura did not like it either. There was one thing he knew for certain, and that was you never wanted your enemy to be happy.

Ever.


	36. Chapter 36

Chapter 36

An Author's Note: I do not own any of the products mentioned here. I do not own Ginga Nagareboshi Gin (though I do recommend it for anime fans). I do not own MST3K.

Also, I not know for certain of Cho Chang really is Chinese, though I thing it is very likely and I have not found anything that says she is not.

All info about China and Japan and whatever diplomatic relationship they have is based on my findings from the Wonderful World of Wikipedia, so do not take it as gospel. Any and all inconsistencies are my fault…or you can chalk it all up to alternate dimensions if you prefer.

Also, random weird insertions into character's pasts not explicitly stated in the anime can alos be chalked up to an AU if you wish. I do have a tendency to make up stuff that is not in the anime. Creative license.

* * *

Chapter 36

A Bit of Calm

Despite all of Umbridge's best efforts, the Voice appeared again the next morning. In fact, the newsletter's appearance almost overshadowed the Daily Prophet's news that Death Eaters escaped from Azkaban. Umbridge tried in vain to eliminate the Voice's frequent appearances, but Bakura kept finding new and creative ways to slip people the newsletter, sometimes they would appear between the pages of textbooks. Sometimes they were stuck to the back of people's breakfast plates. Sometimes they would be under people's pillows. How in the world Bakura managed that one he would never say, he would just smirk (actually that was Yami Bakura, but only a few people knew that).

Harry, on the other hand, had finally found a group of Duel Monster cards he liked. His new deck, which he only used on a casual basis (he would always be far more interested in a certain broom game) mainly centered around doglike beast and warrior beast cards. This was probably due to frequent exposure to two certain canine transforming individuals. He particularly liked a certain ritual card called Lycanthrope (guess why that was). Although, he did have one card that did not have canine qualities: Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys. Harry said it reminded him of Fawkes the phoenix.

Marik took on look at the deck and declared it a beatdown one. He also referred to it as almost Kaibaish, but with puppy dogs instead of huge lizards.

For a few weeks nothing really interesting happened…

Well, okay, a few things.

* * *

One day Kaiba approached started approached Yugi with a strange look on his face. At first Yugi thought that he was going to issue a duel challenge.

Instead he announced "Anyone her want a free laptop?"

A long silence, then "You are offering…free laptops?" Bakura asked.

"I need to test these magic bypass chips. I'm trying to stick them in several different devices. You know the ones I used for the duel disks. They already seem to work well on PDAs, Gameboys, televisions, Nintendo systems and toasters. I need to see if they will work for laptops. It will go quicker with help. If you sign up as a tester you get to keep the laptop."

"Cool…wait, will they blow up?" Marik asked.

"No." Kaiba said.

"Sign me up."

The computers turned out to be a bigger help then anyone could have realized…in Umbridge's class. She had no idea how computers worked. So the fact that people used them with earphones did not raise her suspicions.

However, Harry knew for a fact that while many computer users actually did use the things to take notes, some, like Bakura used them in a different way.

"What is that?" Harry looked the screen in amazement.

"Youtube." Bakura whispered.

"Oaky…but what IS it?" Harry thought he was looking at a black and white film, but what were those…things in front of the screen? It looked like the solitudes of a man, a gumball machine and something with a beak.

"Mystery Science Theater 3000. All I have to do is not laugh to hard." Bakura whispered. "And close the window when SHE comes around."

As if summoned, Umbridge started walking his way. Bakura paused what he was watching and collapsed the window, he then pulled up some half finished notes and pretended to concentrate. When Umbridge came around she saw Bakrua looking intensely at the screen. She grunted and went to spy on someone else.

Harry noticed that Bakura was not the only one looking intensely at a screen, Yugi was as well. His eyes drifted to Yugi's screen. As it turned out Yugi was also watching Youtube, except the things on his screen appeared to be brightly colored cartoon dogs. "What's he watching?" Harry whispered.

Bakura glanced up "Looks like Ginga Nagareboshi Gin." He whispered back.

"Huh?"

"Anime about dogs."

"Oh." A pause then "I really need to grab one of those computers…"

* * *

DA went along almost as it had always been. However, due to Marik's influence more and more Slytherins found themselves allied with the other Houses. Therefore a few more Slytherins found themselves in the DA. Harry tried not to mind, though at first he was a bit suspicious. However, as he started to associate with these Slytherins he found that he had a few things in common with them.

One day, however, Kaiba had finally lost his patience.

"All right, this is enough! Why are we only learning these stupid spells!?"

"What do you want us to learn? Judo?" Marik growled.

"Why not?" Kaiba glared at Harry "What if one of you loses your wand? What do you do then?"

"Umm…" Harry paused.

"That's it, we need to start learning some real self defense!"

"Oh, come on, Muggle fighting? You have got to be kidding!" Fred muttered.

Kaiba growled, then lunged across the room. He batted the wand out of Fred's hand and then swiftly pinned him to the ground.

"See, you are so physically feeble that you can't break a hold!" Kaiba said with a smirk.

"Okay, okay, get off me you huge mammoth!" Fred bellowed "Good Lord!"

"Have I made my point?" Kaiba said.

Harry gave Kaiba a thoughtful look. He had never considered physical fighting in a wizard duel, but every advantage helped.

From then on the D.A. meetings where divided into two parts, the spell portions and the physical training portions. Most wizards whined about this, but they did do it. Most of the time it was Kaiba who taught, but occasionally Bakura would contribute as well.

Harry did notice, however, that every time Kaiba or Bakura would teach them a move, Cho Chang would give them a strange little glare. He did not know why, but he could tell that for some reason his crush did not like his Japanese friends at all…

* * *

Harry did not know how it happened, but if he EVER found the person who had informed Marik Ishtar of his upcoming date with Cho Chang he would strangle that person. It was only a day until The Date, and for the past five hours Marik had been literally following Harry around making snide comments and teasing him relentlessly. As if Harry did not have enough on his plate now he had a crazy Egyptian on his tail.

The actual day itself would have been bad enough, but just when Harry thought he had lost Marik and successfully hooked up with Cho, he discovered the little pest following him along with a certain white haired loon. They stayed a good distance away from Cho and Harry, and whenever Harry would look back to glare at them Marik would make a very explicit and rude gesture at him while waggling his eyebrows suggestively.

After his fifth turn around Cho glanced back to see what was holding Harry's attention. She saw who was tailing them and glared as well "Great, it's that Slytherin and that Japanese kid." She put an extra growl on the word "Japanese."

"What's wrong with the Japanese?" Harry asked he honestly had no clue.

Cho ducked her head, a bit embarrassed "Well…I suppose it's silly…but my grandmother always told me that the Japanese…well…we're Chinese and they…well…we don't like them that much."

"Why not?"

"Japanese imperialism, mostly. Have you ever heard of the Nanking Massacre?"

"No."

"Of course not, they don't teach 'Muggle history' here. Let's just say it was not a good time. They invaded Nanking and slaughtered the people there. What's worse is that a lot of the Japanese won't admit that it even happened. Nationalists mostly."

Harry winced "Maybe we SHOULD be learning more history…"

"Maybe…" Cho said. Then she said "My grandmother always said that…the Japanese deserved the atom bomb…"

Unfortunately the wind carried her voice over to where Bakrua could hear it.

"What! Oh I don't care that she's a girl! I'm gonna-" he was in mid lunge before Marik could catch him.

"Woah! What's your problem!?" Marik was a bit scared now. He had never seen Bakura, the real Bakura, angry. He would have expected this from Yami Bakura, not the calmer one. But now Bakrua almost looked like his Yami, and this scared Marik to the bone. He had always thought of Bakura as a stable and calm person, but now he was clawing to get at Cho.

After a bit Bakura had calmed down.

"Okay, what is your problem?" Marik asked.

"Nothing." Bakura snarled.

"Your acting like the Tomb Robber, now what is wrong?!"

Bakura glared up at Marik "You know Hiroshima? My grandmother and her sisters and her parents lived there when the bomb hit. Only grandmother survived, but she had cancer for so long…"

Marik did not know what to say.

"Get off me." Bakrua sounded calm now as he gently shoved his friend off him. He looked calm as he walked away.

But Marik could not help remembering the strange, unnatural look of anger in his friend's eyes. He could not help but remember the rage in his tone. It was as if the normal, nice Bakura had been replaced by his yami, but it had NOT been his yami. Marik could tell that had not been Bakura's yami.

But the rage had been the same. Only this time it had belonged solely to Bakura, not to a spirit.

Marik knew the dangers of keeping your anger inside of you.

Could the same thing that had happened to him….happen to Bakura?

* * *

A/N: I know that might have been a bit out of character, but think about these three things:

First, everyone has an issue that enrages them.

Second, through most of the Yugioh anime Bakura is under the influence of a certain spirit, so we do not know how much of his personality really IS that nice and calm.

Third, there must be some reason that Bakura always ends up with the Ring…

I have a point to all of these, just wait…


	37. Chapter 37

An Author's Note: Cannon twisters ahead.

* * *

Chapter 37

The Merging

"Oh no! She's dragging him into a café…and it's…PINK!!" Once Marik was certain that Bakura was not going to go postal again they had gotten back on the trail of the lovebirds. Harry and Cho were entering a shop called Madam Puddifoot's, and Marik could not be more appalled to look at the place.

Then, unfortunately for Bakura, a smile appeared on Marik's face. "Looks like one of those romantic type places…let's go in!"

"…what?" Bakura asked.

"Come on." Marik tried to yank his unfortunate friend in, but Bakura dug his heels into the ground.

"Have you lost the rest of your mind?!" Bakura asked.

"All the better to spy on them, besides, there might be gay bashers in there!"

"….huh…"

Marik sighed "Look, what's the one thing that gay bashers can't stand? Two men acting affectionate!" he slung his arm around Bakura to indicate "affectionate". In fact it could almost be loosely defined as a hug. It made Bakura uncomfortable. "So, if you pretend to be attracted to a man they attack, right?"

"And you would want this to happen because…?"

"I can get into a fight and have a perfectly good excuse to kick someone's tail! I can say 'Yes officer, I laid ten of them to the ground, but they attacked first!' It's perfect, Bakura!"

"Holy Ra…" Bakura shook his head "The things that go through your head…"

"It'll be fun."

"No."

They went back and forth like that for about ten minuets, then they were almost trampled when Cho fled from the teashop in tears.

"Oh no! We missed the good stuff!" Marik said.

Harry came bursting out of the shop muttering "Women! What did she want to talk about Cedric for anyway? Why does she always want to drag up a subject that makes her act like a human hosepipe?"

"It's this thing called 'grieving' Harry, say it with me now, 'grieving'." Marik grinned.

Harry gave Marik a baleful look "One of these days you are going to do or say the wrong thing to the wrong person and then you'll be dead in an alley somewhere."

"Don't you worry about me, Harry, I can handle myself. And hey if worse comes to worse I can always throw Tomb Robber here at the problem!" Marik aimed a thumb at Bakura.

"You wanna lose that digit, Ishtar?" Yami Bakura growled.

"BAKURA!!" suddenly a slightly peeved looked Angelina came racing up the drive, broom in hand. Actually, to be accurate she looked like she was ready to brain someone with that broom "YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE AT PRACTICE! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN!?"

"Ooops, forgot about that broom thing." Bakura said in all honesty.

"YOU! SLYTHERIN!" Angelina aimed a finger at Marik, who scowled at it "YOU'RE TRYING TO SABOTAGE US!"

"Lady, if I wanted to sabotage you I would at least have the decency to be original about it." Marik said coolly.

"YOU! COME!" Angelina barked at Bakura as she grabbed the body part nearest to her, which happened to be an ear.

"Ow! Ow! Ow!" Bakura said as he was dragged along the ground to the field.

"Hehehe, oh I gotta see this!" Marik followed with a grin. He ignored Angelina's cries of "GET AWAY, SPY!"

Harry shook his head. Well, at least the Nut Gallery was heading in the opposite direction now…

* * *

Bakura sat aboard his school loaned broom with an irritated sigh. Oh he was not going to enjoy this.

His yami on the other hand…

/I must say I like this side of the game, Bakura, I get to bludgeon things!/

/Words cannot express how thrilled I am for you, yami./ Bakura said.

"Remember, Bakura, aim for the head!" Fred yelled from the ground. Despite the fact that the twins had a lifelong ban that did not stop them from giving the new Beater a string of advice.

Bakura looked over at Ginny, who was now going to be the other Beater. He had a feeling that she was not relishing this role at all.

"Honestly," she had said "I would rather be a Chaser, but we need another Beater…"

Bakura was half afraid that she was going to break her neck.

/Let her deal with that herself./ Yami Bakura growled.

/Yami-/

/Honestly, she lived with how many males in the house? She must have learned SOMETHING./

/Okay, okay…/

"Okay, you two, here come the Bludgers!" Angelina had set up a practice for the two Beaters that sort of resembled an airborne firing range. She would released the evil balls and Ginny and Bakura were supposed to bat them at some floating wooden targets set up around the field. The targets were vaguely shaped like humans on brooms.

The balls flew towards them and the two Beaters started…well beating. It was actually going pretty well.

"Good! Now try your passing!"

"Passing" involved hitting the ball towards the other Beater.

Unfortunately Ginny got a bit too close to Bakura.

WHACK

/Wha…checkers?/ Bakura muttered in his mind as he fell.

/Hmmmm, looks like it…/

* * *

"I'm so sorry!" Ginny said for the millionth time as she helped Bakura up the stairs to the infirmary. Poor Angelina had almost collapsed in grief when they could not get Bakura to stop muttering strange things in Japanese at them. She had then mumbled something about getting Bakura fixed up, and then Angelina had walked away saying something about rabbit's feet.

_She probably thinks the team is cursed or something….and maybe it is…_Ginny thought. She felt so bad for braining her own teammate.

Once she had gotten Bakura situated Ginny returned to the field, determined to make this work.

Even if it killed her…

As long as she did not kill anyone else…

* * *

The match against Hufflepuff had arrived.

And Bakura's head could not have been sorer.

He had mostly stopped talking in Japanese and had returned to mostly English, but there were times when he would start muttering in the other language.

It was unknown if he was really unable to tell the difference because of the cracked skull, or if he was simply grumbling profanities.

"Hey, you gonna be okay?" Marik slid down beside his friend. "I doubt that blow could have caused that much damage to empty space…"

"Marik. I. Am. Not. In. The. Mood." Bakura said.

"Okay, okay." Marik said. "But seriously, you know I'll be rooting for you, right?"

Bakura glared at Marik "You got me into this mess."

"Yeah, because I thought you would find it fun." Marik said. "It won't be that bad, you'll see."

"Evil Egyptian punk." Bakura growled. He shoved his food away and stood up. It was time to play.

He was not the only one who was nervous; the entire team looked like they were going to the guillotine…except for Yugi.

Or should I say Yami Yugi? The two of them had done what they always did before a game, they had merged there minds so that it was almost impossible to separate them. When they merged they grew stronger then they could ever be alone.

Bakura envied them.

"Tomb Robber?"

"What is it, Pharaoh?" 

"Do you want to know why you always lose to me?"

"You cheat?"

"No, you never once merged with your other self. You have never become one with your light. You cannot fight properly because you are only half of what you should be. You have always fought as darkness, but against one like me, who is both darkness and light, you could never prevail."

"Your point?"

"Become one with the light. Become one with your other self. You need him like I need Yugi. You cannot have Shadow with only Darkness. You need Light as well…didn't you know that, Tomb Robber?"

"I am NOT like you!"

"You need Bakura. You always will. You knew it on the blimp! You protected him because you know that you are weak without him to give you the strength." Yami Yugi turned and stared at Yami Bakura "You cannot keep him smothered inside you! Let him help you and help him in return!

"Stop yapping you two, it's time to go!" Angelina rose into the sky. She looked like she was heading for her doom.

"Let him give you the light, Tomb Robber." Yami Yugi whispered as he started to fly as well.

/Yami/ Bakura said as they too started to fly /He's right, let me help you!/

/I don't need help! I have never needed help!/

Turn. Look at the others. Ignore that stupid Weasly is our King song.

/Why did you save me on the blimp, then? You said yourself that Shadow magic required the light! Aren't I your light?/

Ball coming at face. Dodge ball. Roll to the side.

/Yes./

Bludger. Send it to enemy. A miss.

/Let me help/

Another hit, another miss.

/No!/

Booing of the crowd. Most of whom are Slytherin.

/WHY DO YOU KEEP SHOVING ME AWAY!/

/I'M TRYING TO PROTECT YOU!/

A Bludger hit Yami Bakura on the back. He slipped off the broom. He just barely caught the handle.

He was dangling at least twenty feet in the air.

/…protect…me…?/

/You…I could never put you in danger…I…can't…you…you look. I…Bakura you look like…/

/…like who?/

/Her…your eyes…they are her eyes. The rest of you looks like me…but the eyes are like hers…my wife…/

/What? But how can that…?/

/Little Brother! Here me now!/ the voice of Gorneel rang in their heads. The golden dragon appeared before them in the sky. /Now is the time to tell you!/

/What? Tell me what!?/ Yami Bakura asked.

/Watch/

FLASH

It was Ancient Egypt. Yami and Ryou Bakura where standing in a hallway lined with cells.

"Where are we?" Bakura asked.

His Yami looked around in confusion. "Looks like…the dungeons…" the spirit said. He turned and his eyes grew wide "Gywn!"

"Huh?"

"My wife."

_Guess whoever named her did not believe in vowels._ Bakura thought. He stared at the women. It was true that mostly she did not look a thing like himself…but the eyes. It was true he had seen eyes like this before. In the mirror. They where a bit colder and had a determined air about them…but they were still identical to his.

Footsteps caught their attention. They turned and a woman who looked a lot like Marik's sister came down the hall. She stopped at the cell door and gave the prisoner an evaluating look.

"You are with child are you not?" the Ishizu clone said.

"You can tell this?" Gywn growled.

"I am a women, I can tell." Ishizu said.

Gywn snorted "More then likely you little magic tricks told you. And if I was? What would it matter to a butcher like you?"

Ishizu stiffened "I am not a killer, Thief!"

"Ha!" Gywn spat on the floor at her jailer's feet "My love told me about Kul Elna! He told me what your masters did! If you are not a murderer then the dogs you serve are! Kill me if you dare! I will curse you till my dying breath!"

"I will not sit here and listen to your lies, but I have spoken to the Pharaoh. Your execution shall be postponed until the little one comes. The child should not pay for your crimes."

"And then what? You would leave the baby an orphan like his father? Or will you raise him to be a little palace dog? Like you?"

The Ishizu look alike walked away looking frustrated. The vision slowly faded.

/Gorneel…they…survived?/ the spirit asked.

/No./ they were back in the air above the field, but time seemed to be standing still now. Nothing moved. Yami Bakura and Bakura stared at the golden dragon, who continued the story /It came to pass as Isis said. After you were sealed in the Ring Gywn bore a son. They left her just enough time to name him. She called him Aki. Aki Bakura. Then they killed her, but the child survived. He was raised to be a palace servant until your adopted son Runeclaw found him and saved him. Runeclaw brought him back to the Band, and they moved East. East…to the place that would be called Japan. Aki had a son. Then that son had a son, all the way down the line until…Ryou Bakura was born…/

/What!/ Bakura said /Are you saying I'm his…descendent?/

/Little one, why do you think the Ring came to you? All along my little brother sensed his son in you, but he could not recognize it for so long. Little brother you were so blinded by your hate that you could not see what you had rediscovered./

At that moment Yami Bakura knew the truth. He had been a fool back then. If he had been smarter he might have saved his wife. He might have met his son. Now fate had given him another chance.

And his hate had almost spoiled it again.

A strange sensation came over the two of them…no there was no two, or at least they were not as two as they had been. They could see each other's minds reflected in each other. Darkness and Light, the two them had at long last become one.

Yami Bakura swung himself back on his broom.

/Let's win this./

* * *

A/N: Yet more of my strange cannon twisting. But hopefully this is the good cannon twisting that makes you feel all warm inside…is it?


	38. Chapter 38

An Author's Note: This story is now officially has the most chapters of anything I have ever written. Cool, huh?

Sorry for anyone who was looking for an exciting Quidditch match. I have just about decided that I'm none to good at this.

More dialogue ripped from the book coming your direction.

Also, I don't know if this is technically more crossovering, but there will be a bit of a Lord of the Rings reference here. Because dementors look an awful lot like a certain Middle-Earth critter…

* * *

Chapter 38

Speaking Out

The game went by very quickly after that. Anyone who knew Yami Yugi could have told you that he would catch that little golden ball and win the game without any trouble.

So, they did win, but that did not change the fact that Ron still had not managed to block a single goal. It was only by grace of the fact that the Snitch was worth one hundred and fifty points, and the fact that Yami Yugi had caught the thing before Hufflepuff could score more then fifty points, that they came out ahead.

Of course, since Bakura had finally managed to merge with his yami, they ended up nearly unseating or distracting the Hufflepuff team almost the entire match. He had kept the team away from Ron most of the time, but when they did get by his frantic batting the Hufflepuff chasers would score every time. Still, Bakura had done as much damage as both the Weasley twins had ever done.

However, his teammate's stunning performances had done nothing to cheer poor Ron, who seemed to be focused mostly on the rousing choruses of Weasley is Our King coming from the stands. Immediately after the game he fled, not willing to meet the eyes of anyone.

No one, not even Harry, could cheer him up that night.

* * *

The next day Bakura's breakfast was almost ruined by a dive bombing owl.

"Oh you better wish that letter is not for me…" the grouchy spirit growled. The owl gave him a nasty look and hopped across the table to Harry. Another soon joined it, then another and then another until there was a flock of birds hopping around a bemused looking wizard.

"What's going on?" Ron asked as the whole Gryffindor table (and one Egyptian Slytherin who just happened to be walking their direction) stared at the little flock.

"Harry! I think I know what this means-open this one first!" Hermione offered Harry a long cylindrical package, which contained a copy of the Quibbler. Under a picture of Harry were the words "Harry Potter Speaks Out at Last: The Truth About He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and the Night I Saw Him Return"

Bakura snagged the magazine out of Harry's hands and examined it closely. While the others exclaimed over the letters, Bakura was getting an idea.

Meanwhile a certain frog shaped individual was waddling their direction.

"What is going on here?" she said in her fake sweet voice. Bakura glared at her. "Why have you got all these letters, Potter?"

"Is that a crime now? Getting mail?" Fred bellowed.

"Be careful, Mr. Weasley, or I shall have to put you in detention." Frog lady said "Well, Mr. Potter?"

Bakura looked at Harry, who all of a sudden got a very stubborn and aggressive look on his face. Harry reached over and grabbed the magazine from Bakura's hand.

"People have written to me because I gave an interview. About what happened to me last June." He said with a challenging glare. Bakura had to give Harry points, the guy did not look away from Umbridge's glare.

"An interview?" It was amazing how high Umbridge's voice could go "What do you mean?"

"I mean a reporter asked me questions and I answered them," Harry threw the magazine at Umbridge aggressively. "Here-"

Umbridge's face went through several interesting colors. "I have tried again and again to teach you not to tell lies-"

"Well it must have really sunk in, because I far as I am concerned there where no lies in that particular article!" Bakura spoke up.

Umbridge turned the Evil Eye his direction "You might be under the delusion that there are Death Eaters around but-"

"I was attacked by those 'delusions' not two months ago!" /Bakura, should we…?/

Once upon a time Bakura would never had consented to what they were about to do, but he had changed.

/Do it./

"Take a look at what those imaginary Death Eaters did to me!" Yami Bakura did not totally remove his robes, but he did show enough to make it quite clear that he was now covered with scars that had not been their before.

It gave Bakura great pleasure to see Umbridge recoil in horror.

"You! You both are now banned from Hogsmead! And you both have detentions!" Umbridge walked away, balling the magazine in her fist.

* * *

About halfway through the day Bakura was called to Professor McGonagall office.

"Mr. Bakrua" she said with a stern look "Professor Umbridge has just told me a rather interesting story. Apparently she believes that you have harmed yourself voluntarily, then made up stories about how you were attacked by Death Eaters."

Bakura stared at her "What?"

McGonagall tightened her jaw, clearly irritated. Probably at Umbridge "Apparently she believes that you are sadomasochistic, how she came up to this conclusion is beyond me. I am to give you a lecture on harming yourself."

Yami Bakura took over "In other words she is so bound and determined to belive that there are no Death Eaters that she is making up lies about me?" he growled.

"Exactly."

"Have you considered therapy for her?" Yami Bakura asked.

McGonagall made a face that looked like she was trying to be a smile, but her mouth really did not work that way "I am not sure any amount of therapy could help her."

"No joke." Bakura said.

They stared at each other for a while.

"Well then, I suppose we have wasted enough time to be believable. Consider yourself lectured, Mr. Bakura." McGonagall said "Now go and do something…productive."

Bakura smirked.

He did indeed go and do something productive. He made another copy of the Voice. The front article read thusely:

Harry Potter Reveals The Truth of Voldemort's Resurrection, But Is There More To the Story Then Meets The Eye?

Harry Potters latest brave act in a long line of brave acts was to reveal the truth of Lord Voldemort's return to power. Against the great pink adversity he has stood tall and told the truth that the world needs to know.

But is Harry Potter's harrowing tale the only one out there?

Surly not, for we at the Voice have received word of three other attacks, all of which happened to Hogwarts students this year.

The first we heard about was an attack on Japanese transfer student Ryou Bakura. He claims that, at the start of the Christmas holiday he was attacked and tortured by a group of wizards that strongly resembled Death Eaters. He might have been killed had not a decent wizard who wishes to remain anonymous saved his life. This wizard will not reveal his identity for his safety, not just from the Death Eaters, but from the Ministry as well.

The second attack also happened on Christmas, a group of students, who also wish to be unnamed, were attacked by dementors. This was not the only dementor attack to happen recently. Harry Potter was also attacked again at the beginning of winter, an event that was carefully edited from the Daily Prophet. Also edited was the fact that the Ministry insisted on holding a full criminal trial for the offence of defending oneself from an evil entity.

Some might say that the Death Eaters are working alone, without the aid of Voldemort. However, the evidence of a dementor attack adds a sinister piece to the puzzle.

People believe that as long as dementors are controlling Azkaban they are safe. They believe that dementors are just beasts.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Once, the dementors were men.

They began as mortal men given nine rings by the first Dark Lord. The rings gave these Nine power, but also corrupted then into the beasts you see today. They served the Dark, and still do to this day. From the Nine sprung more and more, they spread like a poison on the land. They have been called many things: Úlairi, Fell Riders, Black Wings, Nine Servants of the Lord of the Rings, The Nine and Shriekers.

But the most common name is Nazgûl or Ringwraiths.

While the original Nine were destroyed, those that were pierced by the dark blades of Mordor eventually became the same as the Nine. They spread wherever pure evil was.

They are evil. They will never be anything but evil.

And the only reason they have not attacked before is because they have had no Dark Lord to serve.

Until now.

Unless the Ministry does not dismiss these wretched creatures then one day the skies above Hogwarts will be blacked by the wings of their Fell Beasts.

It has happened before.

It can happen again.

* * *

This article, as you might expect, caused a bit of a stir.

Especially when Binns declared it somewhat factual.

"Well," he said in his dull voice in several classes "It is true there are legends of creatures called Nazgûl. I don't know if they actually were supposed to be dementors, but there are similarities in the descriptions."

Umbridge was bound and determined not to believe it. She called the account a scare tactic to make the Ministry look bad, and said the sources were unreliable. She claimed that the Nazgûl never existed. That they where just stories and myth.

Hermione did some investigating in the library, and found a very old book about magical creatures. Modern books did not have Nazgûl, but this one did.

And the illustration was a perfect representation of a dementor.


	39. Chapter 39

An Author's Note: Beware. Slight Crossovering with my own work ahead. Let's see those of you who have read my other stuff will spot the crossover nuttiness.

* * *

Chapter 39

The Centaur and the Silver Orb

Bakura yawned and glared at the Potions homework in front of him.

/How do you think Snape would respond if I printed out some pictures of these flowers from the Internet?/ Bakura asked his yami in a sleepy manner.

/Unless it contained the appropriate content along with it? He'd still fail you. In fact he might just detract points just to be contrary./ his yami grumbled.

Bakura yawned again. Darn he was tired! He really should not have written down his own name in that article! Now, not only were people constantly asking about his "experience" with the Death Eaters, but Umbridge had been watching him like a hawk when he refused to admit to giving an interview (also, the fact that his English had mysteriously improved had earned him another few nights of slicing his own hand open). Plus, the teachers were pouring on the homework, especially for the transfer students who had to make up a bunch of stuff from the first four years they missed.

Bakura's eyes drooped. The paper in front of him blurred. Idly he stroked Robot's head. The little dragon nuzzled his hand and wrapped his long tongue around Bakura's fingers.

/Hey yami, dragons are Elder Breed, right?/

/Yes, they are./

/So why hasn't Robot tried to talk?/

/For one thing he is too young. Genetic memory for another./

/Huh?/

/It's…strange. Dragons know their history through their blood. It informs the hatchling in the egg of their history. If the dragons decreed that they would act as animals then all hatchlings will be born with that knowledge. He probably will not talk to us even if he comes of age./

/Oh…that's a shame…/ Bakura yawned again, his eyes closing. His hand was resting on the back of Robot, but the dragon did not seem to mind. Slowly Bakura began to fall asleep while sitting up.

Bakura was aware that he was dreaming, in an abstract kind of way. He was chasing a silvery light through a starry void. Was it one of those Patronus thingies that Harry was trying to teach them to summon? Or was it something else entirely? His hands had just about reached it when something landed on his shoulders.

Bakura jolted awake.

A thestral was standing in his room. He had laid his wings on Bakura's shoulders and was shaking him awake.

Bakura yelped and jumped away, startled. Well, it you saw that face looming over you as you woke up you would be a bit shaken as well.

"Relax, it's only Darknight." Yami Bakura appeared beside him with a little smirk. It was clear he found Bakura's reaction highly amusing.

Hey, just because he and Bakura and reached an understanding did not mean that Yami Bakura was going to change his basic nature.

/Thief King, you must come now!/ Darknight said.

"What is wrong?" Yami Bakura asked.

/I will tell you as we go, but we have to go now! Bring the Claws, you may need them!/

"Okay." Yami Bakura said.

/Should we…you know?/

/Of course./

The two of them merged, with only half the fanfare that characterized Yugi's mergings with his yami. Robot shot awake, fluttered over and landed on Yami Bakura's shoulder. Quickly Yami Bakura grabbed the Claws from the bottom of his bag.

/I'll carry you./ Darknight volunteered.

"So what is going on?" Yami Bakura asked as he mounted the thestral. He was not sure how but they managed to fit through the window…

/Have you ever heard of the First Dragons?/ Darknight asked.

"No."

/Ah…well…you'll see./

/What do you think is going on?/ the normal Bakura asked.

/I have no idea. I've never heard of a First Dragon before. But it must be something important. Really important if the Elder Breed are willing to tell us about it. They are pretty tight with their secrets./

A few moments of flying over the forest later they landed in a clearing. Standing there waiting for them was Thorntooth, the old thestral elder, a unicorn and of all things a centaur.

Yami Bakura dismounted and bowed at all them. "Greetings, Elder ones. What can the Thief King do for you?"

The centaur sifted around nervously "I am called Firenze. It is good to meet you…Thief King."

"I was under the impression that the Stargazers did not believe my claim?" Yami Bakura said. It was amazing that someone who was normally so grouchy could actually adopt a civil and respectful tone, but he managed it.

"I am not like the rest of my herd. Thief King there is no time! I…have a job for you. I need you to retrieve the Orb of Life from my herd."

/He wants us to steal from his own herd?/

/Sounds like it/

"If you do not mind my asking: what is this orb and why do you want to steal if from your own herd?"

The unicorn spoke. Bakura had never seen a creature so magnificent in his life. It seemed to radiate an aura of peace and tranquility. It was a strange, warm, calming feeling that Bakura was unfamiliar with. For first time in a long time he felt at peace. He could feel similar emotions coming from his yami. In this creature's presence even Yami Bakura was…mellow.

"The Orb of the Silver Dragon Zilantaxx, the Dragon of Life. It has been held by the centaurs for many years…but now you need it Yami Bakura." The unicorn said.

"Great One of the Light, what do you mean?" Yami Bakura asked.

"The stars have been acting…rather oddly this year." Firenze said "At first they predicted one thing, then almost overnight the readings changed. Something has happened to drastically change the timeline of this world. My herd wishes to ignore it, but I cannot."

"The timeline has changed?" Yami Bakura asked.

"Indeed. You are not supposed to be here, Thief King." The unicorn said "Something, or someone, has changed things. For better or for worse not even I can say. However, I know this: that Orb is no longer safe with the centaurs. We have tried to convince Firenze's herd of this, but they are stubborn and will not listen to us. However, the Orb must be in your hands. You must take it."

"Why?" asked Yami Bakura.

"I…cannot say. But you must trust me. If you are the Thief King then you know that what I say is true. You know that my kind can see what others cannot. This is what I have seen, Thief King. You must have the Orb, for only you can keep it truly safe. However, there is another reason why you should have this Orb. You must have the Orb in order to stay on this side of the Veil."

"The Veil?"

"The Veil of Death."

* * *

Bakura sat invisible in the trees, watching the herd of centaur as Firenze trotted amongst them. The herd was camped in a large clearing ruled over by a huge tree in which a shiny obvious ball of silver glittered. That was the Orb. The plan was simple. Wait until Dumbledore showed up to ask Firenze to teach. When Firenze agreed, and he was going to agree, the herd would drive him out (at least that was what the unicorn said would happen, and according to Yami Bakura unicorns were always right). While the centaurs chased Firenze around Yami Bakura would climb up the rather large tree in front of him and retrieve the Orb from the top of the tree.

Simple.

Yeah, right.

/Okay, the wizard has landed./ Yami Bakura muttered.

/Yep, and he's talking to Firenze./

/And he is nodding./

/Okay, now that black one is getting in Firenze's face./

/Yep./

/Do you also feel like going down there and helping him?/

/No./

/You are mean, Yami./

/Damn straight./

/Firenze is running!/

/Good, now is the time to strike./

Yami Bakura made sure he was still invisible, then swung to the ground. He would have to cross the meadow.

Despite the invisibility the Claws gave him, Yami Bakura remained low to the ground as he dashed towards the tree. He reached the thing and grabbed a branch. Quickly he climbed the tree like a monkey. He did not sink the Claws in, because he wanted to leave as little evidence as possible.

/You are good at this./

/Please! This is a tree! It was made to be climbed!/

They finally reached a branch that someone had apparently sawed off so it made a kind of platform. Right in front of them was a huge hole in the trunk. Inside this hole was a glowing silver ball about the size of a Snitch. Maybe a bit bigger.

Yami Bakura approached the Orb, but before he had walked two steps the Orb suddenly flashed. It rose into the air and shot at him like a bullet. At what seemed like Mach Five the Orb slammed into him

"Ugg." Yami Bakura was blown back several feet. Pain filled their body for a brief moment.

/Oww! Was that supposed to happen?/ Bakura asked.

/I don't know, but let's get out of here!/

They shimmied down the tree and waiting for them was a certain unicorn.

"Well done." He said.

"That thing, it-"

"Yes, I know. It is good. It was supposed to happen."

"But why-"

"Thief King, you must trust me. It will serve you well when the time comes. Until then it shall be safe…" the unicorn seemed to smile "as long as you are safe."

"Oh, great…"

"Now, I believe you have to go home, right?"

Gently the unicorn touched Yami Bakura with his horn. Light surrounded them and in a flash they where back in Gryffindor tower.

Staring at Potions papers.

/Yami…?/

Slowly, Yami Bakura opened his robes and took a look. He had a feeling he knew what would be there, but he needed to see for himself.

Sure enough, right smack in the middle of his body was a glowing silver Orb…

/Yami…do you have any idea what this was supposed to be about?/ Bakura asked.

/Not a one, but I think I am going to have a little talk with a our new teacher tomorrow…/


	40. Chapter 40

* * *

Chapter 40

Double Patronus

* * *

Bakura tried to ignore the knot in his stomach as he approached Firenze's classroom. This would be the first Divination class the students would have with him, and Bakura really wanted to talk to the centaur about last night's events, even though he had the sneaking suspicion that the centaur would tell them nothing.

He was the last one to arrive at classroom eleven. He was a bit surprised to find a forest growing in the classroom, but after a moment's thought he knew that this made the most sense. The rest of the class where looking around for places to sit, as there where no chairs, but Bakura focused on the centaur standing in front of him. Being careful to remember what his yami had told him he bowed to Firenze (Japanese style). He said "Hello, Stargazer, thank you for giving me and my kind this opportunity to hear your wisdom."

After that sentence Bakura tried very hard not to listen to his classmates snickering and whispering in the background.

Firenze, however, smiled warmly at Bakura and returned the bow "It is good to see one young colt in this school with decent manners." He said.

Bakura took a seat on a convenient log and gave the centaur his undivided attention. He noticed out of the corner of his eye that Parvati and her friend Lavender were giving him nasty looks. Bakura thought it had something to do with the fact that he had managed to impress their new teacher. He knew very well that the two rather silly girls thought the centaur attractive, and frankly he thought they were being ridiculous. Firenze was not even the same species!

"Professor Dumbledore has kindly arranged this classroom for us," said Firenze, "in imitation of my natural habitat. I would have preferred to teach you in the Forbidden Forest, which was-until Monday-my home…but this is not possible."

Parvati raised her hand, looking breathless "Please-er-sir…why not? We've been in there with Hagrid, we're not frightened!"

"It is not a question of your bravery," the centaur turned to Parvati "But of my position. I can no longer return to the forest. My herd has banished me."

Bakura winced a little bit. He had, after all, had a hand in that event.

"Herd?" You could see the rusted wheels in Lavender's head struggling desperately to turn. "Wait-Oh! There are _more of you_?"

Bakura rolled his eyes.

"Did Hagrid breed you, like the thestrals?" Dean asked. Two seconds later he was whacked on the head by a suddenly yamified Bakura.

"Idiot," Yami Bakura growled. "What are you, a moron?"

"Hey! It was a legitimate question!" Dean said.

"Just because he happens to have hoofs does not make him an animal! What if he went around calling YOU a dung throwing chimp? How would that make you feel?" Yami Bakura growled.

Firenze barked a word in his own language at Yami Bakura, which shut him up. A few moments of silence passed, then the centaur said "While I do appreciate the sentiment I am quite capable of defending myself against human slurs." His voice was calm and even, but even so there was a bit of dangerous aggression there. He turned his eyes to Dean, who suddenly realized that his comment had been less then tactful. "Centaurs are not the servants or the playthings of humans."

Parvati asked another question "Please, sir…why have the other centaurs banished you?"

"Because I have agreed to work for Professor Dumbledore," he said, not looking at Bakura when he said this "They see this as a betrayal of our kind."

The lesson proceeded. Bakura found himself enjoying it immensely. He preferred Firenze's calm voice and level headedness to Professor Trelawney's theatrics. True Firenze basically told them that there was not real way one could tell the future and that even centaurs were basically stumbling in the dark.

/But remember, Bakura/ Yami Bakura said /that unicorn claimed that we have somehow changed the timeline. That must mean the future is not fixed…/

/So in can be changed…/ Bakura finished /hey! Maybe I can ask Firenze that? Do you think?/

/Go ahead, ask him right now./

Bakura raised his hand. Firenze nodded at him.

"Stargazer Firenze, I was just wondering: is it possible for one to change the future?"

Firenze gazed at Bakura for a long time, then he said "There are many theories about the flow and ebb of time, young one. Some say it is set and can never be changed. Others say that it can. However, there is no way for humans or even centaur to tell. Think of it as a river. We are on a boat traveling on this river, but we are facing backwards, so we can only truly see what has passed us by. We have no way of knowing if the river is straight and true or if it branches and forks, and our actions and rocking of the boat sets it course. Most centaurs believe that it does indeed fork and that our actions influence the journey, but none can really say for sure…except for a few exceptions…"

"What exceptions?" Harry asked.

Firenze shifted a bit on his hooves "Legends tell of a being, a creature that lived at the dawn of time. A creature that can see the path of the river, and that creature can influence it's course."

"Is it a Dark creature?" Lavender asked.

"It is…what we call a Chaotic creature. From our perspective it seems neither good nor evil. Its ultimate goal could be evil. Or it could be good. But the stories that tell of this creature always agree: whatever its goal it will always cause strife and discord."

"What is it?" Harry asked, now hanging on Firenze's every word.

"The Black Fox." Firenze replied.

* * *

Bakura waited by the door after class. Firenze had wanted a word with Harry, so Bakura was waiting for him to come out so he could question Firenze in private.

After a bit Harry emerged, looking a bit confused. Before he could ask why Bakura was standing there the other boy had darted into the classroom.

"What do you think that is about?" Ron asked.

"I don't know…maybe something about the Elder Breed?" Harry said.

"Maybe…oh well, we can ask him later." Ron shrugged.

"Stargazer, I-" Bakura started, but Firenze cut him off.

"I know what you come here for, young one, but I am afraid I can tell you no more then what you have already been told."

"But…now I got this…THING stuck on me and I don't know how to get if off!" Bakura said in a slightly panicked tone.

Firenze sighed "What did you just learn today about the future? While some of us can indeed see what might happen nothing is certain. Nor is anything clear. You know all that you need to know, for now."

"If you won't tell me then who can?" Bakura asked.

"Young one, there is a rather interesting room upstairs called the library." Firenze smiled "Perhaps if more of your fellows would use it they would be wiser."

Bakura had to be satisfied with that. He turned to leave.

But then he remembered something else that Firenze had mentioned today…

"Where can I find information on the Black Fox?" he asked.

Firenze smiled. "Try that…library."

* * *

In his spare time Bakura tried to find more information on the Black Fox, for he was certain that was the creature that he and his yami had encountered during the summer.

However, several factors prevented Bakura from giving the subject a good long search. Homework was high on that list (the papers on his desk literally reached mountain size), as was avoiding Umbridge at all costs. The women had put Bakura on her hit list, and had a tendency to show up at awkward moments just waiting to catch him doing something wrong. Of course, his little rebellion against the forces of Umbridge had to have high priority as well.

Then of course there was the D.A.

"Hey, any of you seen Jeremy?" Marik asked Bakura and Yugi as they entered the Room of Requirement "He was supposed to meet me here, but I haven't seen him all day."

"Maybe he is already here?" Bakura said.

"I don't know…he told me that Malfoy had been following him around…I hope he's okay…" Marik said.

Yugi looked concerned, as did Yami, but Yami Bakura growled and said "If he is foolish enough to fall prey to a fool like Malfoy then he deserves what he gets!"

"Yami, be nice." Bakura said. Yami Bakura snorted.

Marik muttered something about immature ghosts.

"You two better get back in the Items, we don't want the entire school to know about you." Yugi said. The two spirits vanished back from whence they came.

"Glad you got here!" Harry said cheerily "We're practicing Patronuses today!"

"Isn't that the spell that repels dementors?" Yugi asked eagearly.

"Yep!" Harry said "Now, the first thing you need to know about a Patronus, is that they can only be used if you are happy. You need to focus on a happy memory or just something that makes you feel good in order to summon a proper Patronus. Most of them will take the form of a shield, but if you are really good than it will take on its own form. I'll show you right now: _Expecto Patronum_!"

Silver light erupted from Harry's wand and took the form of a stag, which tossed its head and snorted before galloping around the room as if to show off. It then vanished.

The class ooed.

"Alright, now try it out." Harry said. "Remember, think of something happy."

Yugi concentrated…happy…happy…he had it! He thought of the very first time Joey called him his friend. Yami, who wanted to help, concentrated as well on the memory of when he and Yugi had first properly merged. They let the memory of it filled them up until Yugi thought he would burst, and then he waved his wand and said "_Expecto Patronum_!"

It worked instantly; silvery light flowed from Yugi's wand. A burst of light and then a large silver hawk was hovering over Yugi.

As was a larger golden heron.

"What!" Harry stared as the two Patronuses circled Yugi. "Two of them!"

"Harry!" Hermione whispered "There are two of them in that head! One is probably the real Yugi's and the other must be Yami's!"

"Do they come in gold?" Ron asked as he stared at the heron.

"I don't know…" Harry said.

"Man! How come he gets two?" Zacharias Smith growled jealously.

Harry shrugged "I don't know." He lied. "I never heard of this before…"

Smith growled, but did not say anything else.

"Come on people, just because Yugi has a weird Patronus does not mean the rest of you can't practice!" Harry tried to get everyone back on track, though it was hard when everyone was staring at the golden heron.

Kaiba was the next transfer to produce a Patronus. His, while not doubled or gold, was still impressive. It was, in fact, a Blue-Eyes White Dragon, which wrapped its tail around him as soon as it was summoned.

Marik, who concentrated on the first time he had stepped into the sunlight of the surface, managed to bring out a cat Patronus that looked a lot like the kitten that was currently curled on his bed at that particular moment in time.

However, thirty minutes in and Bakura was still struggling to produce a Patronus. He just could not focus on a happy memory.

"Bakura, what is wrong?" Yugi managed to tear his eyes from his two Patronuses.

"I just can't seem to concentrate on a happy memory…" he said sadly.

"Why not? You must have some!"

"Well…I am trying to think of my sister and mother…but every time I do I think of…their deaths. It kinda kills the happy mood."

"Try a different one." Yugi suggested.

The problem was, Bakura really did not have that many happy memories to choose from, because every time he would think of something happy it would remind him of something sad. When he thought of his friends his thoughts naturally turned to the times his yami had hurt his friends. It seemed to him that he just could not think of anything happy without thinking of something sad.

/Bakura…maybe you are going about this the wrong way. Stop concentrating on the past and just think of something you like. I'll help…/

After a few moments of stern concentrating, they finally managed to do it.

And once again, the Patronus split in two; one was a shining silver Bighorn ram.

The other was a golden Egyptian cobra.

Screams erupted from several students. They jumped back in horror at the sight of the snake.

"It's a SNAKE!" Lavender said as she pointed at the thing "Slytherin!"

"Ra's Eye are you blind?" Marik said "that's not just any snake, that's an Egyptian cobra!"

"So! A snake is a snake! Snakes are Dark creatures!" Smith said.

"Nonsense." Kaiba gave the boy a condensing look "A snake is just an animal and nothing more."

"But snakes are the symbol of Slytherin!" the rest of wizardry in general seemed pretty much consumed by this fact.

"That's only because you are Western." Marik scoffed. "They also can symbolize medicine. They can be used as guardians. Heck, the Zodiac has a snake and it does not stand for evil! We Egyptians have worshiped them for a while now!"

"I don't remember the Zodiac having a snake…" Hermione said.

"The Chinese Zodiac, Hermione, not the Western one." Marik said. "The snake stands for wisdom." Marik was careful not to mention the negative portions that are said to characterize a snake person.

At that moment the door slammed open and a panicked looking house elf rushed in.

"Dobby!" Harry exclaimed.

"Harry Potter! She is coming!" he shouted as he rammed himself into a wall "The house elves where told not to tell, but Dobby had to tell Harry Potter!" Harry grabbed the poor elf before he could brain himself.

"Dobby…is it Umbridge!" the house elf nodded, tears in his eyes. "

"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? RUN!" Harry bellowed, and everyone stampeded towards the door.

Except for Kaiba. He would never stampede anywhere. He merely walked out the door and causally turned a few corners, walking as if he had every right to be there.

He made it out Scott free.

However, Yugi, Bakura and Marik had stampeded with the rest. The three of them ran and tried to look for a place to hide.

As they turned a corner they ran straight into an unexpected stunning charm, which…well stunned all three of them.

Yugi rolled his eye and managed to catch a glimpse of their captor.

Malfoy…


	41. Chapter 41

Chapter 41

Umbridge's Conquest

* * *

Usually when going down to the Hogwarts dungeons one was usually going to attend a Potions class or (in the case of Marik) going down to the Slytherin common room.

However there were a lot of dungeons and there was still plenty of space for them to used for their original purpose. Namely, holding prisoners.

When Malfoy's stupid henchthings had grabbed them and started dragging them down into the depths of Hogwarts, Yami Bakura had wanted to leap out and start sending people to the Shadow Realm. However, he that if he did that it would just end up causing trouble for Bakura. So, he simply sat in his soul room and made quiet, but still very rude, comments that only Bakura could here.

Bakura was proud of him. Even though he had to hear his yami's foul language, at least he did not have to deal with awkward questions that would have cropped up if all of a sudden a group of students had disappeared.

But that did not make his yami any more pleasant.

/Who said I had to be pleasant! I'm never pleasant/

/I noticed./ Bakura said wryly

/And if anyone asks I was stunned along with you!/ the spirit added.

/Of course, Yami./ Bakura humored the spirit.

After a while they finally came to a nice, dark and drippy cold place with stone walls and no windows. In other words, a cell. Malfoy and his lumps took away their prisoner's wands and rudely tossed them in.

And they landed on something.

It went "Oof!"

Now they were all in a dogpile…and that was not comfortable.

Somehow, Bakura could still talk (perhaps the stun was wearing off), and he had a problem.

"Yugi! Your hair!"

"Huh?" Yugi was at the top of the pile, so he was okay.

Bakura was not.

"Your hair!"

"What about my hair!"

"One of your spikes is up my nose!"

"What!"

"Move your head! I think it's touching my brain!"

"I can't move my head, Bakura!"

"Bakura! Get off of me!" Marik moaned "Your foot is grinding into my spleen!"

"Oh man…my hair must be getting so snotty!"

"Are you telling me I have a nasty nose?"

"Never mind the nose and the hair! WHAT ABOUT MY SPLEEN!"

"Are you sure it's a spleen? Do you even know where the spleen is located? For all you know it could be the pancreas."

"Bakura, I don't care if it's a spleen or a pancreas or my gall bladder! It is internal and it is squishy and it DOES NOT NEED YOUR BIG FOOT GRINDING INTO IT!"

"Just use that killing curse on me now…"

"Hey! Is that you, Jeremy?"

"Yes it is, Marik, and guess what? YOU ARE ALL ON TOP OF ME!"

"Oops."

"Move."

"We can't, we have all been stunned. Why do you think I am laying here with a huge spear of Yugi hair up my nose? For amusement? Good grief, what do you put in this, Yugi?"

A few more moments passed, and then they all managed to gain enough motor control to roll off each other. Jeremy was the most relieved at this.

He looked pretty bad, to tell the truth. Both of his eyes were black and dried blood was all over his face. It looked like he was missing a tooth or two. Having three people flung on him had not helped matters much.

"Jeremy…what happened to you!" Marik said.

"Malfoy and his goons jumped me in the hallway. Wanted to know what we all were doing when we would go out late at night. When I told them to jump in the lake they started acting like muggles in a spy movie." Jeremy replied. "Good thing for me they only got a few punches in before Umbridge showed up and said they had a witness to our 'crimes'"

"Wonder who ratted us out…" Marik said. He was pretty sure that his friend had not betrayed them. He trusted Jeremy.

There really was nothing to do in that cell but sit around and count water drips, which quickly lost whatever mild appeal it had.

Eventally, however, the sound of several feet came there direction. It was Umbridge, flanked by a smirking Malfoy and his large, evil shadows.

"So." Umbridge said as she glared at them "You four thought that you would join the army that Dumbledore was forming here, huh? Thought that you would overthrow the Ministry?"

The four prisoners looked at each other in confusion.

"What in Ra's name is she babbling about?" Marik asked.

"I don't know, but I think it is time to play 'me no speaky Engrish!" Yugi said.

"Stop that!" Umbridge bellowed. "I know that you can speak our language, so stop pretending you can't! I just came down here to tell you that your precious Headmaster has run away. I am now running this school, and you will play by my rules!"

"WHAT!?" Bakura bellowed.

"I know," she said "That either you," she glared at Bakura "Or you" over to Marik "are running that horrible little school tabloid! I will tell you this much! If any of you step out of line just once, then I will let Filch do what he has wanted to do for years!"

Bakura had no idea what that meant. But he did not need to know. He had a feeling that whatever Umbridge had planned, he would not like it.

Fortunately, Umbridge was not going to keep them in the cell forever. Instead, she had Malfoy and his attack dogs "escort" them back to their common rooms.

That night, Bakura and his Yami plotted revenge.

* * *

Bakura and Yugi got the whole story from Harry the next morning over porridge.

"Dumbledore did not want anyone on the D.A. to get in trouble." He said "so he made it look like HE had been the one to form it. He said that this was our first meeting."

"Bet the Umbitch did not like that." Yami Bakura said through Bakura. Umbitch was his new name for the nightmare they were enduring.

"Actually, she was thrilled. Thought she and the Minister where going to bag Dumbledore. He got away, though, and he's out there somewhere."

"Well, that is nice and useful." Marik growled. "He's out there and we are in here with Madame Pink Dragon Lady!"

"Dumbledore will never leave the school as long as those here are loyal to him!" Harry said.

"Okay, okay, don't get your robe in a bunch!" Marik said. "By the way, who ratted us out, do you know?"

"Marietta Edgecombe, Cho's friend." Hermione replied. "You know the one that always seemed to hate the meetings."

"Ah…" Marik said.

"Well, at least it was not me." Jeremy grumbled "I'd hate to look like she does now. Honestly, Granger, HOW did you manage to make zit writing?"

Hermione smiled "It's a gift."

"I'll say."

"Yeah, though you should see the Slytherin table now!" Marik pointed at the table. The only people there were Malfoy and his supporters. The rest of Slytherin house were scattered about the other tables. Occasionally nasty looks were darted at Malfoy's way. The fact was, not many in Slytherin even wanted to sit by Malfoy after what he had done. It was an unspoken rule in the house that you do not attack your housemates like Malfoy had attacked Jeremy, especially if they are older then you. That morning only members of Malfoy's Inquisitorial Squad were there, and no one actually called it the Slytherin table in conversation anymore. They called it the Umbridge Table, and shunned it like it was carrying the plague.

"In any case, the four of you better be careful!" Hermione said. "Umbridge will be looking for a chance to set Filch on you now. He's been wanted to whip students for years!"

"Excuse me…whip?" Marik asked.

"Yes, whip."

"As in…whip whip? With actually…well…whips?"

"Yes." Hermione said very slowly.

A long pause, then Marik said "Ra you people are medieval. What's next? The stocks?"

"Trust me, if there were any around then Filch would use 'em." Ron said.

"You are right." Yugi said "We'll just have to lay low for a-"

"Well, I am not going to lay low!" Bakura growled. Surprisingly, this was the not-dead-Bakura this time.

"Bakura-"Hermione started, but the other cut her off.

"I spent all my life letting people push me around. Teacher, bullies, my yami, Marik-"

"Hey!" Marik protested.

"And I am NOT going to let some jumped up tyrant push me around!" a fist slammed into a table "Not any more!"

Marik grinned "Yeah! We can't let her win! We got even more reason to fight now!"

"Guys," Yugi started, then stopped, after a long pause in which he appeared to be listening to his Yami. Then he said "if you ever need a hand then come to me. I'll be right behind you two!"

"Right, come-on, Marik, let's go and create some mayhem!" the two of them jumped up and rushed from the table.

Hermoine turned to Yugi "Why didn't you stop them?"

Yugi took a sip of pumpkin juice, then said "For as long as I can remember I have always been the center of action. Either me or my Yami. I have never seen Bakura try to stand for something like he is doing now. If I get to involved I might ruin it for him. I am standing back and giving them a chance to do something meaningful. They need it. Both of them…but Bakura needs it the most."

"But Yugi…"

Yugi grinned. "Don't worry, they will be fine! I know they will!"

_I hope they will…_


	42. Chapter 42

Chapter 42

An Author's Note: Up until now I have basically been portraying Snape as he is portrayed in the books. However, in this chapter we will be spying into Snape's Mind as I See It. I have always thought that he was, really really really REALLY deep down where no one can see it, a decent person. I can also sort of sympathize with his plight a bit. Being bullied myself, I know how I would feel if I had to teach the son of my tormentor (especially if said son looked the mirror image of said tormentor).

Snape is not a good teacher…but that does not mean that he is evil. He's more of a really dark, very sarcastic hero. If you have read the final book you know what I am talking about.

Oh, and appearing once more is a certain elf OC, just to make sure none of you forget about him.

And I am going to make up an Ankh power, trust me it is needed...

* * *

Chapter 42

An Ankh a Memory and a City

The days that followed were filled with malicious pranks on Umbridge by certain individuals. Most knew that these individuals were the deadly foursome of Fred, George, Marik and Bakura, but only a few knew that they were advised and abetted by a certain King of Thieves. At some point the two foreigners had teamed up with Hogwarts famous twin duo, and they were creating holy havoc. The Weasley fireworks were just the start, as Bakura was showing a complete and utter meanness that he had never shown before. For example, no one had ever predicted that the usually calm, somewhat sweet boy would come up with dumping pig's blood all over Umbridge's desk.

Yugi, personally, thought he had just been spending way to much time with the spirit of the ring. They were starting to rub off on each other. Bakura was getting a bit more mean, but the yami was getting a bit nicer…not much but somewhat. And he was really only nice to Bakura. Bakura, for his part, was his normal nice self to everyone…except Umbridge, who he seemed to utterly loath. Yami thought it had something to do with a yami and hikari merging with each other. Their personalities were becoming more in tune with each other.

Yami insisted this was a good thing.

Yugi was not so sure.

However, Harry did not really think about Bakura's crusade that much, because he had his own problems to worry about.

Namely, Occlumency.

Probably what Harry hated most about Occlumency was not the practice itself, which was rather mind numbing as it was, but the fact that he had to have extra lessons with Snape.

The two of them glared at each other across the room. If looks could kill…well let's just say the entire room would have been destroyed.

"Potter" Snape growled "It is simply amazing that you cannot even grasp this simple concept. How many times do I have to tell you to clear your mind before you actually do it?"

_Maybe if you told me HOW_! Harry thought, and therein was the problem. Harry had not idea how to "clear his mind". For one thing every time he looked at Snape he wanted to punch him…and a part of him…actually kinda wanted the dreams. For nights now he had been dreaming of a strange door, and he desperately wanted to know what was behind it. He felt compelled to open it, and he was more then willing to follow that impulse rather then the instructions of a man he loathed.

"We will try again." Snape hissed.

Harry scowled, his anger flaring up. All at once…he felt strange warmth coming from his pocket. He knew instantly what it was: the Ankh.

So far he had kept the Item in his pocket wherever he went, even though he did not know how to use it. It just felt right to keep it with him. Oddly enough, every time he got angry the thing would warm a bit.

Incidentally it was warm most of the time.

Snape cast his spell, and all at once an urge came over Harry. He reached into his pocket and grabbed the Ankh.

Several things happened at once. First, a golden shield erupted between Harry and Snape, deflecting the magic. Snape, who actually had very good reflexes, ducked as the spell rebounded all about the room.

CRASH

BANG

CRUNCH

It took several minutes for the spell to dissipate, and in that time it wreaked a fair portion of the room.

Snape raised his head and glared at Harry, as if he wanted to tear the boy apart. But before he could someone knocked on the door.

"Come in." Snape said, his glare never leaving Harry's face.

The door opened and Malfoy walked in.

"Sir, we found…" Malfoy stared at the scene.

"What are you doing here?" Snape said, with only half of the hostility he usually showed people. Truth be told he hated that spoiled little Malfoy boy with every fiber of his being, almost as much as he hated Potter. But the simple fact was that Malfoy's father was a Death Eater. A surprisingly talkative one that was a nice little babbling brook of information. Snape could not afford to get on the elder Malfoy's bad side, so he pretended to favor the little brat Malfoy had spawned.

It took all of Snape's will to do this.

Malfoy babbled something about one of his fellow Idiot Squad being found in a cupboard or some such thing. Snape did not allow the smirk to cross his lips, but he was in fact very delighted by this news. He had a feeling that this was the work of that spirit and his troublemaking host. Snape was wary of those two, who knew if they were truly loyal. After all, one was an admitted thief, and they toyed with Dark Magic as if it was a toy. He did not trust them…but he had to admit that they had style, and Snape found himself amused greatly at their pranks, despite what he personally felt of them.

"We will finish this tomorrow Potter, get back to your common room." He growled, careful not to look at those eyes. Once again Snape reflected on the irony of life in general.

_Her_ eyes…in _his_ face.

If there was a God He surly had an evil sense of humor.

Glaring at Snape as he left the room, Harry was all set and ready to go back upstairs…until his eyes fell on the Pensieve sitting on Snape's desk. The thing was an interesting device; it could hold the memories of a person inside its silver liquid light.

Harry wondered what kind of memories Snape was hiding from him…

He walked over to the Pensieve and took a look…

* * *

After Snape had dealt with that ape Montague (and he suspected that the spirit had struck again, he was worse then Peeves) he trudged slowly back to his office, determined to do something nice and relaxing after dealing with the screaming heathens known as children. Perhaps a book and something drink? Something nice and soothing. Chamomile tea maybe…or maybe just some bourbon.

How did he end up like this? Teaching children, he hated children! The little pests! Why did he take this job…

Oh, that's right; no one else was going to hire an ex-Death Eater.

Sigh…

He entred the room and was about to collapse in his chair when the Pensieve caught his eye. He heard a voice from the past, a wretched, horrible voice…

"Who wants to see me take off Snivelly's pants?"

Quick a lightning he was at the Pensieve, staring at the worst moment of his life again, complete with a noisy little Potter brat sticking his wand where it did not belong. Snape's eyes narrowed with rage. No doubt the little brat found his pain funny like his father! Why else would he be watching like a spectatior at a Quidditch match. Infuriated he grabbed Potter by the arm and yanked him out.

Looking at Potter all of his old rage for the boy's father came back to Snape, every time he and his goons had chased him, tormented him, beat him with Quidditch bats and threw Bludgers at him. Every name that they had called him came rushing back in a tide of hatred. He threw Potter to the side and screamed and ranted at him, hardly knowing himself what he was saying. All he knew was that he wanted that boy out! Out now!

Five minutes after Harry had fled for his life, jars were still being thrown at the walls.

* * *

Three floors up and Harry was just about over his blind panic when he slammed into someone, a white haired someone with a temper.

"Ra damn it, Potter!" Yami Bakura growled, "What is your problem!

"Snape! My dad! Jars of cockroaches!" Harry could not even form a complete sentence.

"Wait…what?" Yami Bakura blinked.

The story came pouring from Harry, even though he knew that this was the spirit, and not the real Bakura. Only the spirit called them by their last names when he was irritated. And he was one of the few people who used the phrase "Ra damn it."

"Okay, okay." Yami Bakura said after Harry had finally run out of breath. "You looked into this…memory thing and saw your father tormenting Snape when they were at school…okay…so?"

"And my Mum! She…she hated him!"

"Snape?"

"No! My dad!" Harry said

"Oh, is that all?" Yami Bakura said.

"IS THAT ALL!" Harry bellowed "What kind of marriage did they have if they hated each other! What if he forced her! What if my father was a..a…" Harry could not even form words anymore.

"Hmmp, who cares, they are dead after all." Harry looked like he was going to punch the spirit. "But if it makes you feel better then let me tell you that my wife hated me when we first met." He continued, not wanting to fight at the moment.

He was not in the mood.

"Whatever." Harry growled. He had no idea why he confided in this nasty ghost in the first place. He should be talking to someone who knew…like Sirius…

"Well at least one good thing came from this. I won't have lessons with Snape anymore."

"Wait…you are not going to take that Olccymancy thing anymore?" Yami Bakura asked.

"No."

"What about the dreams?"

Harry glared at Yami BAkrua "Why do you ask?" You don't care about me!"

"That's right, I don't" Yami Bakura said "But I am not going to give an enemy an advantage. Whither you like it or not our foe is the same, and I never go into battle unless I know I can win."

"I am not going back."

"Harry…" Yami Bakura sighed. "Look, just a second, I'm going to talk to Snape. If it will stop you gaping like a fish and shouting for a moment. Crazy mortal." Yami Bakura grumbled as he walked away, leaving Harry with his fears.

* * *

Snape had finally managed to calm down when a certain white haired possessed boy swaggered into the room with an irritated look.

"What happened?" Yami Bakura asked.

Snape glared. How convenient that this…thing was here. "What are you talking about?"

"I just bumped into Harry. Aperently you are stopping these…lesson things. Why?"

"You." Snape got to his feet to tower over the thing. "are not supposed to know about it."

"Well, I do."

"You are wasting you time, ghost. I will not teach the son of James Potter Occlumency any more. Not now, and not ever."

"So you want to give Voldemort-"

"Don't say that name!"

"an open door right through Potter's head!" Yami Bakura continued "And might I remind you that I am over a thousand years old! I will call the man whatever I damn well want!"

The two glared at each other for a full five minutes.

"Ghost, do you have any idea what it is like, to look at the face of the man who tormented me with the eyes of a women I love! Do you have any idea how…" Snape cursed. "I will not do it anymore."

/Yami…I have a plan…/ Bakura said. His yami listened, and gave an evil grin.

"Tell me, Snape, can you teach me Occlumency?"

Snape glared "Why?"

"You teach me…and I can in turn teach Harry."

Snape glared more "How can I trust you, Ghost?"

"You cannot. Just as I cannot trust you. At least we can be certain of that."

"Hmmm," Snape considered. It might give him an opportunity to learn more about this evil spirit, and he would not have to deal with Potter again. And he would still be fulfilling his duty to Dumbledore…and to Lily. "Very well then, Ghost, but I will be watching you."

"Fine then." Yami Bakura turned to leave. "One thing more, a little bedtime story before I go…once upon a time there was a thief who's family was killed by a king. He sought his revenge against the son of the man who committed the murders, though the boy had been a mere infant when the murders occurred. And then do you know what happened?"

"Why should I care?"

"They spent the rest of eternity in hell, both of them." the spirit said as he left.

After a while, Snape got up.

It was time for some bourbon.

* * *

It was amazing how fast the human race breed. They where like cockroaches that way. Always sprouting out more and more of them…

And the city called London stank, really stank. Maybe it was because Azzeraell's elf nose was more sensitive than humans. That was probably it. Not only that, but his eyes were burning from the amount of smog and his sharp ears were ringing with the sounds of a city.

Civilized culture indeed, where by Gaia were the trees!

He was also being noticed, that was a bad thing. Normally he could blend in with any crowd, but he had forgotten that, after a hundred or so years, dark green cloaks and armor kind of went out of style.

Ra damn it. At least no one could see his ears.

Ah, a wizard place! The magic from this Leaky Cauldron…pub…inn…whatever it was, gleamed to his eyes like a beacon. Might as well have a herald in front of it. Did these people know nothing of subtly? Probably not…

Now, the main question was, did Azzeraell dare walk into a den full of his enemies, or should he stay on the streets. Both choices were unappealing. However, he would not find the person who had stolen the Claws by standing in Humansmelltown like a lovestruck deer.

Palming a dagger, just in case, Azzeraell walking into the pub, trying to look as natural as he could. He kept his face down and his hood covering his ears. No need to announce to the world that the last true elf was striding around town.

He smiled at what he saw. This did indeed look like an inn. Nice. As long as he had his little gold stash he could sit here and listen to rumors all day. Surly he would find a lead eventually.

Azzeraell was good at finding leads. And he had nice, deep pockets…

Especially when said gold was someone else's.

For the next few hours the elf sat in a corner, drinking the stuff the humans served him, listening for any sign, even a small one. Occasionally he would "use the loo", which translated to "quietly slip against a few humans picking pockets while pretending to answer nature's call".

He found nothing that day, but he was a patient elf. Like all of his kind he knew the art of waiting quietly.

Eventually, he knew, his patience would pay off.


	43. Chapter 43

Chapter 43

An Author's Note: More weirdness coming your way…

* * *

Chapter 43

Visions of Future and Past

It took Yami Bakura only three nights to master Occlumency.

This peeved Harry to no end.

He tried to tell himself that the evil spirit was thousands of years old, so he must have picked up some tricks. He also was a master of a Millennium Item, which probably also contributed…but that did not make the facts any less annoying. Plus, the spirit wanted to have a lesson every single night. While Harry did like the spirit and Bakura a lot more then he liked Snape he still did not like Occlumency.

The first night went a bit better then most nights with Snape...sort of.

"He kept going on and on about clearing my mind, but he never explained how!" Harry bellowed. They had snuck into the Room of Requirement, which had transformed itself into a simple room.

"You need to be in a mental state similar to mediation, far as I can tell." The spirit said. He received a blank look.

"What?" Harry said.

"…let me guess…wizards don't meditate in this day in age…do they?"

Harry shook his head.

"Grreeeaaaat." Yami Bakura muttered. He had never really been good at that stuff anyway, at least not the quiet kind of mediation. He was too angry an individual. He had hoped that Harry would not be like that, but…"Maybe we should try a different angle."

"Huh?"

"You need to learn to use your emotions, not let them use you. Seeing as how you are a teenage boy with enough angst to fill a house, we will start with anger."

Speaking of anger, that little comment really irked Harry. Who did this guy think he was?

The night dragged on with Yami Bakura trying to teach Harry to use his negative emotions against people trying to break into his mind, and Harry trying to listen. However, the fact was that deep inside Harry did not want the dreams to stop, and so he did not put much effort into this.

Finally, Bakura decided to quit for the night. Even with a new teacher Harry was still getting absolutely nowhere.

Besides, they still had another pranks to play on Umbridge.

* * *

The days went by, and Harry still did not improve on bit. Yami Bakura was being surprisingly patient, only ranting to Bakura through the mind link.

/He does not even try! What is wrong with that boy!/

/Yami…do you think that Voldemort might be influencing him right now?/

/It is possible…and that is what I am afraid of…/

* * *

Meanwhile, as if all that was not enough, the entire school suddenly seemed to realize that exams were coming up. This was especially worrying for the fifth and seventh years, for they had the O.W.Ls and the N.E.W.Ts to deal with.

It was even more worrying for the transfers, who had no idea what they where going to when they had only one year of magic training.

Although to be honest, neither Kaiba nor Bakura were as worried as Marik and Yugi where. Kaiba, as usual, was at the top of the class, and Bakura was not far behind him. Yugi and Marik, however, were along the lines of average, and neither of them was very secure. Especially Marik, who had never encountered anything like this before.

Then, of course, there was all this talk about careers.

Kaiba, naturally, already had plans. He had a new dream, a dream of his company bringing technology to the lowly magic users. With those new magic bypassing chips of his (he was calling it the K-Chip); he planed on corporately taking over…everything in the magic world related to gaming…

And there was really no career path for aggressive cooperate take over.

Marik was actually thinking about going into business with Fred and George. He had a feeling that if he convinced Kaiba to let them supply his…stuff then they would all be rolling in the gold. It was only a thought though…but it was one that would not go away.

Yugi…as for him he had never really thought of a magical career. He had always imagined himself going back to Japan after all of this was over. Bakura had been thinking the same thing, the only thing he really felt was important was continuing the Mardorunando, but other than that he had no clue…

Bakura was feeling very nervous when he arrived at his appointment with Professor McGonagall Monday morning. He was even more nervous when he saw Umbridge there. For some reason his stomach was clinching and his chest was throbbing. He amused himself with the thought of what Umbridge would do when she found her underwear strung up the school's flagpole. However, this did not help, as the pain in his chest was getting worse and worse.

"Mr. Bakura." McGonagall said with her usual stern look "I must say that, for someone who has never had any magical background you are doing extremely well. As it stands now you could conceivably go into any field that you desire…

Bakura listened to her talk, but the pain was becoming almost unbearable. He stood up, wanting to tell her that he needed to go to the nurse, but a wave of nausea overtook him, and he fell.

He could hear shouting coming from somewhere above him, but that faded as the darkness took him.

And then…he saw…

_

* * *

_

"Zilantaxx?"

_He turned his head away from the sight of the human's army gathered at the base of the mountain to look at his sister. The large green dragon walked up to him, her scales flashing emerald in the sun._

_"Has the king and the others left now, Tiamatiania?"_

_The green nodded._

_"Good…is Mafafneral…will she be ready?"_

_"I don't know. Sometime the dark one…I can feel it inside her…she is not the same dragon she was."_

_"I wish I knew what it was…not even my powers seem to have any affect."_

_"I don't think they ever will, Zilantaxx. Did you know? It has a name."_

_"What name?"_

_"It's-"_

Fade…

* * *

_Dark wings filled the air, the Fellbeasts hovered over the battlements of Hogwarts, and their Dementor riders seemed to gaze at the school with a hungry expression._

_As one, they attacked._

_

* * *

_

Fade…

_

* * *

_

Bakura looked up, the eye glared at him.

_He spread silver wings and roared._

_

* * *

_

Fade…

_

* * *

_

A man sat in a chair as the dark figure approached him.

_"Hello, it's been a while."_

_INDEED._

_"You ready for me now?"_

_YOU ARE EAGER NOW? YEARS AGO YOU FEARED ME._

_"I never feared you. My brothers did, but never me."_

_IF YOU SAY SO…_

_

* * *

_

Fade…

_

* * *

_

"You think you can beat me! Fool! I OWN you, Tomb Robber! You and that weak boy!"

_

* * *

_

Fade…

_

* * *

_

"Stay away from him! Monster!"

_"Try and stop me, little dragon."_

_

* * *

_

Fade…

_

* * *

_

"Traitor!"

_Bakura lunged, knife out and ready._

_His enemy glared as claws started to emerge from his fingertips and tawny fur sprouted over his body..._

_

* * *

_

Fade…

_

* * *

_

Bakura looked at…it. It was a skeleton…with a hood…and a scythe.

_Oh no…_

_"Am I dead?"_

_NOT YET, BUT YOU WILL BE._

* * *

Bakura opened his eyes. He was staring at the ceiling of the hospital wing of Hogwarts.

"Ouch…my head." He muttered.

"Hey! You are awake!" Marik's voice…

Bakura groggily turned his head. "What happened?"

"I was kinda hoping you would tell me. You just fainted in front of McGonagall and no one had any clue why…"

"Great…peachy…what day is it?"

"You are going to kill something…it's only a week till the O.W.L.s and-"

"WHAT!"


	44. Chapter 44

Chapter 44

An Author's Note: This chapter is probably going to come off a bit cheesy…but cheese is nice on occasion. Without cheese we would not have the cheeseburger…

* * *

Chapter 44

United

Marik let Bakura panic for a full ten minutes before he could not stand it anymore, he started giggling like a loon. Bakura glared at him.

"Okay, okay, so I lied. You were only out a few hours…but that was a pretty funny look you got!"

"Marik, I'm going to-"

But before he could attempt to pulverize the Egyptian loud shouting and banging interrupted him.

"What is that?"

"Hmmm, sounds like Fred and George. What to go and stare?"

Bakura nodded, and the two of them ran off, ignoring Madam Pomfrey's protests. On the way they were nearly speared by a pair of flying brooms. Wondering what in the world their partners in crime were up to, the pair speed up. When they got the entrance hall they were pleased and amused to see the nice new indoor swamp that Hogwarts had recently acquired. Unfortunately, Fred and George had been cornered by Umbridge. The two of them had summoned their brooms and were hovering above the student body assembled on the ground.

Fred looked around, and his eyes meet Marik and Bakura. He gave them a little wink, and mouthed "Good luck." The twins then sped away from Hogwarts and never looked back.

* * *

Later that night, the three remaining pranksters were discussing recent events.

"We gotta get back at her for this." Marik growled. "We can't let this stand!"

"Hmmm, I have been thinking…aren't there supposed to be testers for the Ministry coming for those O.W.L things?"

"Yes…you have a plan?"

"For now, we lay low. Umbitch will think the threat is over. But, the first day of the O.W.L. s…"

* * *

For the next few weeks, Marik and Bakura did nothing but study and prepare for "The Big Day" as they called it. Many others were attempting to fill the void that Fred and George had left, but none of them did as good a job. Umbridge seemed to think that the prank threat had been dealt with.

She was sadly mistaken.

No one knew what they were planning, but rumors started spreading. Rumors that it would somehow involve pies, dynamite and the 1812 Overture…

* * *

Meanwhile, the event that some had been dreading, others enthralled by, had finally arrived.

The last Quidditch match between Ravenclaw and Gryffindor.

"Okay, so we are all agreed, no 'Weasley Is Our King." Marik whispered to the Slytherin students loyal to Hogwarts. All of them were sick of Malfoy and his nonsense. They would not follow him another step.

"Right, we are agreed." Jeremy said. Other people nodded.

"Good." Marik said.

"So. What do we do?" A boy named Theodore Nott asked "Just sit there and stare at our hands?"

"I don't really care what you do, heck sit there and pick your nose for all I care. Personally, I am going to be cheering for Bakura and Yugi." Marik said.

Gasps all around "But…they are Gryffindor!" One girl said.

Marik gazed at all of them, a serious expression on his face "I don't care what house they are in. They are my friends. Who did you think I was going to cheer for? Ravenclaw? I barely know anyone in Ravenclaw! But I have known Yugi and Bakura since before all of this…house stuff. Why would I want to do anything else!"

The Slytherins stared at him.

Marik sighed "There are more important things in life then what house you belong to in a school! Do you really think all of this house stuff is going to extend out to the real world! I don't think so, and I am not going to let 'house tradition' dictate my life! I am going to see my friends play, and that is that." With that Marik marched of to the field, leaving the students to ponder his words.

A few minutes later Marik was sitting in his set, watching Ron miss yet another goal. A stirring below caught his eye, and he looked down to see Hagrid talking to Harry and Hermione. Quietly as they could with a half-giant, they snuck away from the match.

A part of Marik wanted to follow…until he heard that annoying Weasley is Our King song. Despite the fact that ninety percent of Slytherin was just sitting there not making a peep, the song still echoed. Marik realized that Malfoy must have found a way to amplify his and his follower's voices.

Marik felt enraged and infuriated. Before he knew it he was on his feet. He could think of nothing else to do, he started bellowing "Yugi! Bakura! Yugi!" chanting both names over and over. For a moment he felt embarrassed and self-conscious. Then, as if in a dream, Jeremy too stood up and joined his friend in his chant. One by one the other Slytherins stood up and joined the chant.

Then, miracle of miracles, the Gryffindor students joined in, though they screamed the names of all the team, not just the two transfers. Another miracle occurred, and the Slytherins adjusted their own chant to fit the Gryffindor, and soon both houses were screaming out the names of the Gryffindor team.

For the first time in years, the two houses which hated each other above all others raised their collective voices as one.

Ron seemed to steel himself, and the Quaffle headed his direction he blocked.

And he blocked.

And he blocked.

And for once, he did not miss.

The Gryffindor students then started their own little version of the Weasley Is Our King song, and Marik was quick to make up a new Slytherin version as well:

_Weasley now saves everything_

_He never leaves a single ring_

_So now the Gryffindors all sing_

_That Weasley is their king._

Gryffindor won the match, but it seemed to them that they had won something else that day, something that was far more important. They not only left the field singing the praises of Ron Weasley, but they were now doing it side by side with the Slytherins.

The Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff students could only stand in shock, wondering what in the world had just happened.

In the headmaster's office, a ragged old hat stirred. The Sorting Hat smiled. And sang softly to itself:

_For were there such friends anywhere_

_As Slytherin and Gryffindor?_

Finally…the houses were united once again.

* * *

Sometimes, if Azzeraell concentrated hard enough, his mind would wander back to the past and he would see them in his mind's eye: Gorneel, a brave and true friend to the end. Gywn, the girl who Azzeraell always suspected was royalty, but had turned out to be a fine thief and a worthy Queen of Theives. Afekia, the little boy he had helped raise, and who he had literally followed to hell and back. Runeclaw, a little werewolf pup who had followed in their footsteps and became a great a king as anyone could ask for. Little Aki, who had never been satisfied with the life of a palace slave.

And sometimes he would see the Thief King…not Afekia, but the one he had fallen in love with. Back then it did not matter so much that two men…well…

But then again the world had been larger back then as well…and flat.

And then his mind would wander to his people. They certainly did not really care that he was in love with a human male. All they wanted out of him was to produce at least one child before he died. There was a simple explanation for that. The elven race was declining, and they had to do something. Breeding was encouraged, in the hope that the race could survive.

Well Azzeraell had delivered, and he had loved his daughter with all his heart, even though he really felt no emotion for the girl's mother. But she did not really feel for him either. He could not be with them all the time, but he always sent his daughter presents and made it a point to see them at least once a year.

But it had all been for nothing…that wizard…that WIZARD! He with his little magic stick and his little magic words! He who had stalked Azzeraell's people and turned them into small, twisted subservient…things!

The memories did two things; first they reminded him that he was the last of his kind.

And secondly…he was not a young elf. In fact he was a very old elf. He would not last much longer, maybe fifty years if he was lucky. Once he was gone that would be it. There would be no more elves. At least not true elves. The original elves. The first elves. Nearly an eon of glorious history all nicely flushed down the happy little wizard toilet.

He would remember the other two primary elf races: the shadow elves and the wood elves. His kind, the high elves were now mutants, he knew that, but no one knew the location of the wood or shadow elves. They had vanished the day after the high elves had become the house elves.

In his heart Azzeraell hoped they had fled somewhere safe. Maybe, if they had found a refuge then they would remember their doomed cousins. Maybe they even still talked about them.

Maybe, somewhere, someone remembered the elves.

Because it was pretty clear to Azzeraell that the humans did not remember at all.

Raised voices interrupted his musings. He opened his emerald eyes and peered at the person sitting across from him in the Leaky Cauldron. The man actually looked like he might have some elf in him, what with the pale hair and complexion. But there was also something incredibly slimy about the man that made Azzeraell want to stab him. The man was holding some sort of pamphlet or paper, and was shaking with rage. Gently giving the man's mind a mental poke, the elf discovered that the man's son had sent the paper to him. He also mentally caught the name "Hogwarts."

"How dare this writer say these things? I will find out who wrote this!" the man growled and tossed the paper in the trash "Filthy Mudbloods! They will see what happens when they mess with a Malfoy."

Silently, so that no one would notice him, the elf extracted the pamphlet from the garbage. What he saw shocked him. The old emblem of the Band: a raven holding the eye of Odin while perched on a crystal. Surrounding the bird and the crystal were plants that looked like ones from the old elf homeland. The pamphlet itself was called The Voice of the Ancients…and it was produced by a group using an old elf word…

Azzeraell scanned the paper, and came to the only conclusion he could.

Someone at this "Hogwarts" knew of the Elder Breed.

And he was using the old sign and name of the Thief King.

Azzeraell closed his eyes and let his mind brush against the people in the pub, looking for information on this "Hogwarts". After a while he got some directions.

The next day saw Azzeraell literally running on the tracks that usually ran the Hogwarts Express. The elf's swift strides carrying him to Hogwarts…


	45. Chapter 45

Chapter 45

Before the Storm

Azzeraell arrived in Hogsmead around midnight the next night. He was tired and grumpy, and was quick to take lodgings in the local inn. He could sense the wizards all around him, and it made him edgy. He knew they all thought him a handsome young human because elves kept their youthful appearances throughout their lives. It was hard for humans to judge buy appearance alone an elf's age, as adults rarely showed signs of age. It was easer to tell an elf's mood then his age. Elves had a tendency to undergo mild body transformation when stressed or in an intense state of emotion.

He knew his ultimate destination was Hogwarts Castle, but right now he wanted to stick around this village and learn more.

He needed to know if he was facing friends or foes…

* * *

The day of the O.W.Ls had finally arrived.

Umbridge was pleased as she led the testers into the Great Hall. She was bragging to them about how much better the school was with her at the helm (if only that Marshbanks woman would stop singing Dumbledore's praises!). But all and all it was going rather well, she thought.

The thought was barely out of her head when all of a sudden the entire hall was blasted with music. It was a bit of the 1812 Overture to be precise. It seemed to be coming from the very walls themselves. Then several explosions, along with many sloshing sounds, in time with the music occurred. Someone had rigged every toilet in the place to explode water in perfect tandem with the song being blared from every inch of the castle. AS the music reached its mighty crescendo and conclusion another explosion went of, and literally a thousand creamed pies fell from the ceiling onto the heads of all in the Great Hall. Not one person was spared, least of all Umbridge.

Professor Marshbanks, who did NOT like cream pie, glared at Umbridge and said stuffily "Well, the tone of this school has certainly gone down with you in charge!"

Umbridge turned red.

* * *

The next morning, at precisely nine o clock, everyone got the pleasant wake up call of another song. It was a nice, rude one about a man who admired women's large posteriors (although he did not put it in that way). Music played all through breakfast, mostly Weird Al's polka music. Umbridge clearly hated it, while the students and staff were amused by it. The music stopped after breakfast, but it was clear form then on that Umbridge had no control over the school, and the testers got the message plain and clear.

It did not help matters that, every time Umbridge passed in the hallways that day, the student body would hum the morning's tune at her all at the same time.

The morning's entertainment also helped to ease some of the tension that the fifth years were feeling. It was hard to be nervous when one thought of the look on Umbridge's face when that music played.

* * *

Bakura was nervous about this testing deal. Though he felt that he and Marik had done the prank to end all pranks, he still was nervous about the O.W.Ls. McGonagall had told them that, if the transfers felt they were not ready then they could take a make up O.W.L either next year or the summer after that, and they could choose the subjects they felt they were bad in to save till later. However, despite the fact that his stomach felt like a butterfly house at the moment, Bakura was determined to go through with the O.W.L.s. Surprisingly, Yugi and Marik were opting to take the tests as well. Kaiba, of course, would never admit to needing more days to study even if he was the last in the class (which he was not).

The written exam for Charms was first.

As soon as he sat down Kaiba had neatly and effectively answered each question, turned in his paper, and left. All of this took him about five minutes. He left that place in a hurry, because he was feeling that darned Presence again, the Presence of the women with the white hair who kept calling him "my love", and he did not like to stay in one place when that happened. He did not appreciate being haunted, and it was actually making him a bit edgy.

Marik was the second of the transfers to leave, not because he was as confident as Kaiba, but because he was feeling so nervous he just wrote whatever he thought and got out of there to go throw up in the bathroom.

Bakura approached every question like a man facing the firing squad. He would write down what he thought the answers were, then he would go back and double check and triple check until he had practically memorized his own answers. He turned his paper in with the feeling that someone had rubbed his brain with a sponge.

Yugi calmly and slowly thought his answers though, then he wrote them down. He was the last to leave, but he felt rather good about his answers.

The practical exam came, and Bakura ended up with Professor Marshbanks. He resisted the urge to ask her what kind of pie she preferred for next time. The exam went well…until Bakura was asked to levitate a cup. The problem was not the action itself, but rather the odd thoughts that leapt into Bakura's mind. For some reason he got the sudden urge to say "There is NO SPOON!" Unfortunately he did indeed end up saying this out loud. When the professor asked him want the world he was talking about he stared laughing hysterically. Fortunately, however, that was the last question, and he managed to get out of there with only an odd look as his parting gift.

Marik's did not go as well. Right in the middle of his test he ended up lighting his tester's beard on fire, and he had no clue how it had happened.

Yugi did a bit better, until he got to color changing charms. Somehow the thing had rebounded on him, and now his tri-colored hair was all grey. It stayed that way for five full hours, and then it wore off.

Kaiba did perfectly. As usual. Even if he did see that girl standing behind his tester he did not falter.

It basically went that way through the entire testing phase, eventually Bakura settled down and did not have any more hysterics, though those odd thoughts kept flitting through his mind. Marik soon was able to hold his lunch though testing, though he often looked a little green. Yugi just plodded on with an annoying cheerful attitude. Kaiba sailed through the tests as if he had been born a wizard.

The only subject that Yugi and Marik ended up excelling in (at least in their opinions) were Care of Magical Creatures and their two electives. Marik got high marks in Muggle Studies because he knew the difference between a microwave and a toaster, and could even operate the things. Yugi had Yami to help him study the Magical Runes and so he could read them pretty well. Kaiba's Arthimancy went off without a hitch.

As for Bakura…for some reason every tea leaf he looked at in his Divination exam looked suspiciously like a skull…which did not bode well. But he shrugged it off. He felt he had better things to think about…

Everything was going pretty smoothly, until the Astonomy exam, when Hagrid was attacked by Umbridge's forces. The students being tested on the tower that night got to see the Ministry attack not only the poor half giant, but when McGonagall tried to defend him she was attacked as well, and had to be sent to the hospital.

This enraged everyone, including the transfers. Marik and Bakura started plotting a horrible end for Umbridge after the O.W.Ls…

But they never got a chance…

* * *

The History of Magic exam was the last one, though Bakura was having a hard time concentrating. He wanted Umbridge's blood now, and he wanted it now. It was hard focusing on goblin rebellions when one was constantly thinking of strangling someone.

His eyes wandered to Harry, who was nodding off.

/Oh…that could be bad…/ his yami said.

/Why?/

/I have a bad feeling about this…/

Yami Bakura's bad feeling was confirmed as Harry fell out of his chair, screaming in pain.

* * *

A/N: Short, I know…

By the way, I don't own the Matrix or the 1812 Overture (or any other music featured herein).


	46. Chapter 46

Chapter 46

An Author's Note: Many apologies to Little Kuribo for this Yugioh Abridged quote/tribute thing in here, but when the moment came I could not help myself…I do not own Yugioh Abridged.

* * *

Chapter 46

To the Ministry

Bakura gritted his teeth and he rushed through the rest of his test. He could see Marik, Yugi, and even Kaiba rushing through their exams. It was clear they were thinking the same thing he was: Voldemort must have broken into Harry's mind, and now they had to help him…at least, Bakura knew that was what Marik and Yugi where thinking. He had no clue what Kaiba might be thinking.

At that very moment Kaiba was thinking up a good excuse to use for giving his help. In his own cold way Kaiba kinda like Harry, and did want to help him, but his nature would not allow him to help someone without some sort of supposed gain, even if that gain was a smokescreen. He decided on saying that he had a vested interest in defeating Voldemort. He could be certain that Voldemort would not support a muggle run company mooching into the wizarding world, so Voldemort's defeat was imperative to his company's success in this new market.

Yes, that is what he would say.

Within a few moments the duelists had finished their last exams and had gathered outside the Great Hall, ready to look for Harry. Interestingly enough, they where soon joined by Jeremy (who was taking his O.W.Ls for the second time. He had never been good at academics, and had been held back a year. It was not due to lack of intelligence, he simply did not really care.)

"You are going to find Harry aren't you?" Jeremy growled at Marik "I'm coming with you."

Marik gave his friend a look. The other boy looked very upset about something "What's wrong?" he asked.

Jeremy growled again "He has this habit, you see. Every year he gets into some sort of trouble, and it usually involves Voldemort. If you are going to follow Harry you will be in danger, and I'm not going to see either you or Bakura dead! Not if I can help it!"

Marik nodded.

"I am coming too. I have an interest in Voldemort's demise." Kaiba said coldly "I can't run a business in the wizarding world with that fanatic on the loose."

Yami Yugi nodded (the two had merged recently, and Bakura and his Yami had followed their example).

Unfortunately, no one knew where Harry had gone. Although they could have used the ring to detect the Ankh, Yami Bakura did not want to use the item in front of Jeremy, at least not yet. It was not that he did not trust the Slytherin; he just liked having his secrets. They might have sat there all night discussing the issue, had Snape not shown up.

Snape was already in a bad mood after dealing with Umbridge, now he had to check on that mutt Black! So Potter thought his precious godfather was in danger because of a dream (that Snape thought might have been planted by the Dark Lord), and now the brat expected him to run errands for him…And there was that dratted thief and his crowd. Snape heard Potter's name mentioned in frantic tones, and he guessed what was going on. His eyes meet the thief's, and they gave each other their customary glares. Neither of them liked each other, but through the lesson Snape had given the thief, and a few interesting conversations, they had started to have a grudging respect for each other. Even Snape had to admit, privately, that the thief's "light" (as he called the other Bakura), was not a bad Potion's student. Certainly he was better at it then most Gryffindor dunderheads.

"What are you loitering around here for?" Snape asked the thief.

"Harry." Was all that the thief said, but that was all he needed to say to confirm Snape's suspicions.

"Potter was caught by Umbridge in her office, apparently trying to talk to someone in her fireplace, along with some others. Something about someone named Padfoot. I suggest you stay away from Umbridge's office, if you know what is good for you." With that Snape stalked away. Hopefully the thief would do something about Potter before the boy did something stupid again.

Yami Bakura knew that Padfoot was Sirius' code name, and he knew that Snape knew it as well; however he would not expect Snape to bellow this information at him. There was only one thing to do: head for Umbridge's office.

The group ran there, only to find Ron, Ginny, Neville and Luna, in Umbridge's office, struggling with Malfoy and several members of the Inquisitorial Squad.

Kaiba, who was fed up with these pureblood wizards, slammed into Crabbe with gusto.

Malfoy turned his wand on Kaiba and said "Come any closer, Mudblood, I and I'll-"He did not finish his sentence, because Kaiba grabbed his arm and twisted it.

"Screw your blood! I have money!" Kaiba did not know where that came from, but it felt good to say!

The rest of the Idiot Squad was taken care of by Marik and Yami Bakura, who as it turned out had a few sharp knives between them, as well as the dagger hidden in the Rod. No one bothered with the wands when the chips where down…

After the Idiot Squad was either unconscious or bleeding or both, Yami Yugi asked the room in general "Where is Harry…and what exactly happened to him back there?"

Ron got up from where Goyle had dropped him and said "Harry and Hermione are in the Forbidden Forest with Umbridge! As for what happened…Harry said that he saw You-Know-Who torturing Sirius in the Department of Mysteries."

"That can't be good." Marik said.

"Bakura! We have to find them quickly! Use your Ring!" Yami Yugi said.

"But…those…wizards…"Yami Bakura protested.

"We have no time, Tomb Robber!"

Yami Bakura sighed. "Fine…" He grabbed the Ring and held it out "Ring! Find the Ankh! Now."

Ron looked at Jeremy "What is he doing?"

Jeremy shook his head "Beats me."

The wizards gasped as the Ring's tines stood straight up, and then pointed down and to the side.

"Follow me…" Bakura said, as he felt the Ring pulling towards the Ankh.

* * *

Deep in the Forest, Azzeraell was leaping from tree to tree, hoping to find some Elder Breed that might help him.

What he found were wizards, three of them. What was odd was that two of them were teenagers, a boy and a girl, and the other was a fat, froglike female that seemed to ooze her way through the trees.

Interested, he followed them, wondering what they were here for. It looked like the two children were prisoners, which made no sense to the elf. And they seemed to making as much noise as possible…which was incredibly stupid. Azzeraell could sense centaurs…

As if on cue, the irritating horse men erupted from the trees and surrounded the humans, their bows drawn and ready. Azzeraell had always disliked centaurs. They were…uppity.

Azzeraell watched as the women made demands and basically insulted every centaur there. Bad mistake. Azzeraell could see that the centaur race had not changed a bit. Still as proud as ever, and when that pride was damaged in any way centaurs had a tendency to get violent. The woman was dragged away, and Azzeraell had no pity for her. She should have known better.

However, he knew that they would let the children go. Centaurs were always good about that…

He was proven wrong when one of them lifted the children up in air.

"And these?" the grey centaur said.

"They are young. We do not attack foals." Said someone sensible in the centaur crowd.

"They brought her here, Ronan," said the grey one " And they are not so young…He is nearing manhood, this one…"

Azzeraell hissed to himself. He did not want to get involved. Tese where wizards! The animals that had corrupted his kind…still…they were just teenagers…

"They can join the woman!" he heard one of them yell, and Azzeraell knew he could not let this be. He conscience would not let him rest if he did.

"STOP!" he bellowed as he dropped from the trees, in front of some rather flabbergasted centaur.

"Another human!" one of them shouted "How dare you come into our forest you arrogant-"

"Arrogant! I am not the only one who is arrogant here! And I am no human!" Azzeraell let his hood down, letting everyone get a good long look at his ears. "Hear me, centaur, for it seems you have forgotten me! I am Azzeraell the thief, last of the elves!"

One of the centaur sneered "Elves! The elves trusted humankind and now look what has become of them! All are slaves except for you! An old lowborn thief! Why should we centaur listen to the living example of why all humans should die!"

Azzeraell really did not have a good response to that, but as it turned out he did not need one. At that moment a huge…something started lumbering through the trees. After a look Azzeraell recognized a giant…a small giant, but still a giant. Deciding that the discussing could wait, Azzeraell leaped back beside the humans…who seemed to know the giant. At least the girl did, because she kept screaming the giant's name. Azzeraell really did not care, he was busy looking for an escape route.

Once it had lumbered off, fighting the centaurs who were attacking it, Azzeraell turned to the girl, who seemed very white. "What was that?"

The girl gapped like a fish for a few moments and said "Umm, that was Grawp, Hagrid's brother…"

"Hagrid…how many giants do you know, girl?"

"Hagrid's the school gamekeeper, and he is only half giant! And he's a great man!" the boy growled at Azzeraell.

"Hump…never though I would hear a wizard saying such of one with Elder Breed blood, but I suppose that miracles do happen." The elf said. He survived the destruction, and his eyes landed on a discarded centaur bow. He picked it up "Now this will come in useful."

"But…they did not leave any arrows…" The girl said.

"Hehehehe, elves do not need arrows, girl." Azzeraell, who could not help showing off, showed her the tips of his fingers, which where now glowing. He made as if to string an invisible arrow, and the light seemed to take the shape of one as he drew. He fired, and white light shot into the air.

"Elf-shot." He said. All of my kind could do it…" Azzeraell paused, wondering what he was going to do now that two wizards knew he was here.

But the boy was giving him an odd look "Are you…did you know a Thief King Bakura? Long ago?"

Azzeraell started at the mention of that name. He turned to glare at the boy "Who are you? And how do you know of the Thief King?"

"My name is Harry Potter, and I've meet him."

Azzeraell snarled and grabbed Harry by the robes and lifted him into the air "Liar! The Thief King is dead!"

"Death never stopped me, though, my old friend." Said a voice from the shadows. Azzeraell turned, and could not believe his eyes. Walking up to him was a human that looked like his old student. While the body was a bit different the aura was very similar…

And he was wearing the Ring.

Azzeraell glared at the person in front of him. "How do I know that you are really him?"

"It's me; I can assure you of that. I can tell you many things that only the Thief King could know…I can tell you that you were the lover of the King before me. I can tell you that you were my second in command when the dragon Gorneel was slaughtered by the Pharaoh's guard. I can tell you that you avenged him yourself. I can tell you that you kept telling me to let my vengeance and anger go, but that I did not listen to you. I can tell you…that my name is Afekia."

Azzeraell was about to tell this…person, that this was not good enough, when a familiar golden form appeared behind the group.

/Azzeraell, he is telling the truth./

/Gorneel!/

/How have you been, old friend?/

Azzeraell looked at the white haired boy, and could not help but accept the truth.

"How is this possible?" he asked.

Yami Bakura rolled his eyes "Long story short: My soul was trapped in the Ring. This body belongs to my descendent, Ryou Bakura. I am glad to see you are still free, Azzeraell."

"I am the only one. I was lucky." The elf said, still reeling from this bit of news.

"Okay, if you are done with all of that," Harry, who was getting impatient, said "I have to go and rescue Sirius!"

"You mean 'we'." Yami Yugi said, as Yami Bakura told Azzeraell who Sirius was and who Harry was and what in the world was going on here and why in the world they were standing shoulder to shoulder with the Pharaoh.

"No! I am going alone!" Harry said.

"You are not!" Yami Bakura said "First off, there is still a chance that this is all a trap, and you will need help to fight your way out of it if it is. Secondly, do you think Voldemort is going to be alone if he is there? You need us!"

"But-"

Yami Bakura snarled at him "Stop acting like the Pharaoh! You need help and we are giving it to you! Shut up and stop acting like a spoiled child!"

"But how are we going to get there?" Ginny asked.

Harry looked around…and then he spotted the thestrals who had wandered into this interesting scene.

/Don't give us away, elf friend!/ one of them thought to Azzeraell /We are pretending to be animals for their benefit./

/I see…/ Azzeraell said.

/Will you carry us, great warriors?/ asked Yami Bakura.

/Of course./ the thestral said in a pleased tone.

One by one they all found a thestral, even those who could not see them, and prepared for take off. Even Azzeraell found a mount.

"You do not have to come…" Yami Bakura said.

"I am coming. It is an honor to fight alongside you, my King." Said Azzeraell.

The thestrals took off into the night.


	47. Chapter 47

Chapter 47

The Dark Lords

* * *

"So this is your wizard ministry?" Azzeraell snorted as they landing in front of the telephone booth "Can't say that I'm impressed."

Harry did not really care to reply to that. He was too focused on rescuing Sirius to care what the elf thought of the wizard Ministry of Magic. He gave his thestral a one quick pat before he led the way into the telephone booth, which somehow managed to fit all of them inside.

The Ministry was dark and quiet. Without people it was actually very spooky. Harry made a beeline towards the elevators (Azzeraell gave the fountain in the lobby an evil glare as he passed by, most likely because of the sappy looks the centaur the goblin and the house elf were giving the wizard and the witch…or maybe he just found the water coming out of the elf's ears offensive).

Down they went to the last floor, the Department of Mysteries. Marik could not help but mutter "Last floor, certain doom." as they departed the elevator.

Harry's desperate charge through the halls was interrupted when they actually got through the doorways. They had emerged into a room full of doors, and Harry had no clue where to go.

"Bakura, could you use your Ring to point us?" he asked.

Yami Bakura snorted "Tell me what you are looking for. The Ring needs direction."

"We are looking for a room full of glass orbs." Harry said.

"Fine." It would take a bit more concentration for the Ring to find something that was not an Item, but Yami Bakura was an expert after thousands of years. He concentrated and the Ring's tines stood straight up and then pointed to a door. "That way." Yami Bakura said.

"I wish I knew how he does that…" Jeremy muttered.

"No you don't." Marik muttered back.

Harry knew in an instant that this was the right door. They were surrounded by strange glass orbs everywhere on shelves. He started to where he had seen Sirius in his vision, but Yami Bakura held him back.

"Let go of me!"

"Use your brain! This is obviously a trap!" Yami Bakura said. "Azzeraell, you think you can scale those shelves and cover us from the top?"

"Can hawks catch mice?" Azzeraell smirked as he climbed up a shelf with ease. At the top he grabbed his bow and started summoning his elf shot powers. After a moments thought Yami Bakura and Marik followed him.

"You know we might end up killing people, right?" Marik muttered to Yami Bakura.

"I know." He growled.

"Is he ready for it?"

Yami Bakura knew who "he" was. His light. It was actually a good question…

/Bakura, do you want to go into your soulroom…you don't have to see this if you don't want to./

After a moment of hesitation, Bakura said /We are in this together…/

Yami Bakura might have argued the point, but he noticed that something was wrong down below with the wizards.

"My king, I don't see anyone else here…I don't think this Sirius person was here at all." Azzeraell said.

"I think you are right…this is bad." Marik said.

The three of them watched as Harry picked up a glowing prophecy in his hands and stared at it. They managed to catch Harry saying "It's got my name on it."

A drawling voice came from behind them, a voice that set Yami Bakura's teeth on edge "Very good, Potter. Now turn around, nice and slowly, and give that to me."

"Enemy?" Azzeraell whispered.

"Yes." Yami Bakura said.

Azzeraell drew his bow and aimed it at Lucius Malfoy's head.

"Wait for the rest of them to get in range." Yami Bakura said, as he could see more Death Eaters surrounding their friends.

"You've got him," Harry said to the elder Malfoy (he was refuring to Sirius) "He's here. I know he is."

"_The little baby woke up fwightened and fort what it dweamed was twoo_." One of the Death Eaters, and insane sounding woman, mocked.

Yami Bakura groaned to himself. Sometimes he hated being right.

"Don't do anything, not yet…" Harry said, loud enough so that the reinforcements on the shelves could hear him.

"You hear him? _You hear him_? Giving instructions to the other children as though he thinks of fighting us!" the madwoman said.

Azzereall glanced at Yami Bakura "I follow your orders, not his. Do I strike or not, my King?"

"Wait…" Yami Bakura said. They listened as Malfoy told Harry that what he held in his hands was a prophecy, one concerning both Harry and Voldemort. However, Azzereall was getting impatcent.

Yami Bakrua had a thought.

"Marik, can you summon a monster?"

Marik grinned "I got just the one…how does The End of Anubis sound to you?"

"Good, I'm summoning Gorneel…" Yami Bakura concentrated and the dragon appeared. "Have them stalk around the Death Eaters so they can only see shadows…" Yami Bakura said.

The monsters began to stalk around the wizards, Gorneel seemed to take great joy in this. Soon the Death Eaters started to look a bit nervous.

Harry knew it had to be Yami Bakrua's doing. "Get ready." He whispered to the others.

"What in the world…" Malfoy took his attention off of Harry to stare at the shadowy thing that they could barley see.

Then, just for the fun of it, and because he thought it might be a good idea, Bakura let out his best evil, sadistic, insane laugh. The wizards looked around, giving Harry the opening he needed.

"NOW! Stupify!" Harry blasted Malfoy away and made a break for it, followed by the rest of the group, who also where blasting Death Eaters with stunning spells.

"End of Anubis! Attack them!" Marik bellowed, and the monster roared in to cover the retreating wizard's flanks. The Death Eaters screamed at the sight of the huge purple beast, but one of them ran towards it, swinging an ax like a crazed lunatic. Macnair, the butcher of magical creatures, laughed as he swung the ax at the Dual monster, which slashed at him. However, Macnair was skilled at killing creatures, and he leaped up and surprisingly managed to take the End of Anubis's head off. Macnair did not stick around, either, and he and several other Death Eaters ran after Harry.

Marik felt a shock go through him as his monster was killed. He swooned and fell off the shelf before anyone could help him. Panicked, Yami Bakura jumped down beside him and felt for a pulse. Marik was alright, just knocked out.

Jeremy suddenly appeared beside him "I'll look after Marik! You have to find Harry."

Yami Bakura nodded and called to Azzeraell, who was busy shooting the remaining Death Eaters. Those that were shot died pretty much instantly, due to the fact that the elf got them in the heart every single time. Azzeraell finished the last Death Eater and followed Yami Bakura.

They got to the circler room with the many doors to find Yami Yugi and Kaiba back to back, fending off Death Eaters with both wands and their signature monsters. Gorneel suddenly flew from the prophecy room and joined Kisara, who was blasting Death Eaters apart with her white lightning. The Dark Magician, Mahad, was suddenly struck by the Crutacius Curse, and he fell to the ground in pain. Gorneel roared and swung his tail, catching the offending Death Eater and slamming him against the wall.

"You now owe me, mage." Gorneel growled.

"Shut up, lizard." Mahad growled back.

"Ring! Find Harry Potter!" Yami Bakura shouted, and the remaining duelists, plus elf, followed the Ring. There they found Neville hovering over Ron, who was being attacked…by a brain…

It would have been funny except for the look of pain on Ron's face.

Azzeraell, though he felt it was against his better judgment, took out a knife and started cutting the brain off Ron "Go find your Potter child. I will take care of this wizard."

Yami Bakura nodded "Make sure you do not die on me now."

"Hmmp." The elf snorted "The same to you as well, now get moving."

They moved.

* * *

Back in the prophecy room, Jeremy was hovign over Marik, trying to revive the boy. A shadow fell over them.

"Boy, what are you doing here!"

Jeremy turned around. He knew that voice far to well "Father!"

His father stared at Jeremy, then he smiled in a demented manner "Well well, it seems you caught a blood traitor, my son. Let's go, you can present it to the Dark Lord yourself!"

Jeremy gripped his wand "No."

The demented smile slipped "What did you say to me?"

"I won't do it. I won't go with you and I won't follow your master. I'm through with this pureblood crap!"

"How DARE YOU!" The man raised his wand to curse his own son, but someone shouted "STUPEFY!" and stunned him before he could do anything.

Jeremy looked up to see the Order of the Phoenix bearing down on him. Tonks approached them and kneeled down to take a look at the two boys. "Are you two all right?" she asked.

Jeremy nodded. "Yes, but I think that Harry and the others are still fighting."

"Right, let's get you and this other one out." Tonks said.

Marik groaned, starting to wake up "Okay, please tell me you got the number…" he said.

"Comeon, we have to get you out of here." Tonks said.

"Umm, Harry okay?" Marik asked.

"We haven't found him yet."

"Okay, then it will have to wait. Not leaving until this is done." Marik stoop up, a bit shaky, and started to the door. With some hesitation, the Order of the Phoenix followed him.

Jeremy went with them. He knew that he could never return home now that he had rejected his family's views and defied his own father.

But for some reason he was okay with that…

* * *

Meanwhile, Azzeraell had finally gotten the last bit of brain tentacle off of Ron.

"Boy, you had better thank for this later." He muttered.

"There will not be a later for you or that blood traitor." A sadistic voice said.

Azzeraell looked up to see the same ax wielding Death Eater that was approaching him. "And who might you be?"

"Name's Macnair. Slayer of magical creatures…though I have never seen one like you. What are you?"

Azzeraell grinned "I am the thief Azzeraell, last of the elves. And your death."

Macnair laughed and swung his ax at the elf's head. Azzeraell dodged and slashed with a dagger. The two of them traded blows. Macnair swung his ax one handed, but it was a feint. At the same moment that the elf parried the ax blow the wizard pulled out his wand and yelled "Cruico!"

Azzeraell fell, not just hurting from the spell, but from a sudden pain in his chest.

_Ra! Not as young anymore!_ He thought as the big human kicked him the face. Out of sheer spite Macnair stomped on the elf's chest, breaking several ribs.

He hefted his ax. "You head is going to look real nice." He grinned as he prepared to swing.

In ancient times special people could summon monsters from the Shadow Realm, the duel monsters. And as it happened, Azzeraell was one of those people. It took all of his concentration, but he managed to summon his special monster.

"Red Dragon Archfiend." Azzeraell muttered, and the monster's shadow appeared between him and his would be killer. The form was not complete by a long shot, but the monster managed to make his claws real as it slashed at the wizard. It then vanished in a puff of smoke.

Howling, the wizard dropped his ax and stumbled back. Somehow, the elf managed to lunge at the human and buried his dagger in the wizard's neck.

Azzeraell slid to the floor, coughing blood. He groaded as he saw more wand wielding shapes approaching him, for he knew that he could not fight back…

* * *

Yami Yugi, Yami Bakura, and Kaiba found Harry, but they also found a load of Death Eaters. None of them really noticed when the Order and Marik joined the fight, for everything had become a blur of colored lights and battling forms.

However, Kaiba did notice when Sirius Black arrived. He saw Sirius fighting his cousin, the insane Bellatrix Lestrange.

He saw Sirius fall towards the strange veil. The veil that Kaiba could feel in his bones was bad news.

"Blue-Eyes! Save him!" Kaiba roared.

Kisara heard her love's command, and dove to save Sirius Black.

She almost had him, but Lestrange would not be denied. She bellowed a Killing Curse and blasted the dragon aside.

Time seemed to stop for Kaiba. He no longer cared that Harry Potter had just lost his godfather, for the sight of his dragon falling to the floor lifelessly filled his world. He screamed and rushed to her side.

"Kisara! Kisara! Can you hear me?"

The dragon raised her head and said in a whisper "You said…my name…" She vanished back to the shadows.

Kaiba screamed in rage. He looked up to see Harry chasing Lestrange, and he ran to follow them, eager for revenge as well. Catching sight of this, the other duelists followed him.

They found Lestrange cornered by Harry, who was bellowing at her about how the orb had been smashed. She was now screaming for her evil master to forgive her failure.

"Don't waste your breath!" Harry bellowed, his face screwed in pain. "He can't hear you from here!"

"Can't I, Potter?" the voice was cold and high, not the voice that any of the duelists would have suspected to belong to an evil dark lord. Yet here he was. A pale, snakelike human thing that looked at them as if they were trash, then the eyes swung and meet Harry's as if he was the only one worth bothering with.

Marik hated it when people did that.

"So you are Tom Marvolo Riddle?" Marik shouted. That got Voldemort's attention. "Sounds like a circus name to me! Hey, Tomb Robber? You think this clown belongs in a circus!?"

Yami Bakura smirked "I do indeed."

"Marik! Bakura! How rude!" Yami Yugi said "How could you defile the noble name of the circus by including this trash in it!?"

"No kidding…bad psychopaths." Kaiba said.

Voldemort glared at them "Fools. I will kill you all."

Yami Yugi said "No, you will not. For now you shall face judgment, Tom Riddle. You will face the judgment of the gods!" He held up a certain red card "Slifer the Sky Dragon! I call upon your power!"

Kaiba grinned and raised his card in the air "Come! Obelisk the Tormentor!"

Marik raised his card "Winged Dragon of Ra!"

Yami Bakura grinned "He's not a god, but this card's power rivals their own! Come to me, my White Lion!"

The Gods appeared before them, Slifer coiled around the pillars, Ra and Obelisk standing shoulder to shoulder, and the White Lion crouched to the side, wings scraping the ceiling.

For the first time in a long time, Voldemort felt fear. He stared at these massive creatures, and knew that he could not defeat them face to face. An idea came upon him, and seemed to vanish.

"He got away?" Marik asked.

Harry seemed to shudder, and his eyes took on the same red tint of Voldemort's. He could feel him slithering in his mind, trying to take over. With the last of his will, he closed his hand over the Ankh.

And leapt into his own mind.

* * *

He was staring at Voldemort. The two of them where in a strange room, a room where Harry felt…almost happy in. The walls were red and gold, with green and silver trimmings. Pictures of lions and snakes sitting side by side covered it. A sword hung on one wall, along with pictures of Harry's parents, his friends and snitches and brooms.

A card hung in the air between them. Before Voldemort could do anything Harry reached out and grabbed the card.

"Give in to me, boy, a piece of paper is not going to help you! I am the darkness and I will consume you! You cannot stand before me!"

Harry stared at the card. It had no picture, but instead it had writing.

**Shadow: Light and Dark. Not good or evil until you choose. You are of dark and light as well. As am I. I hunt in the night and sleep in the day. I am both. Summon me. What is my name?**

Harry glared at Voldemort and said "You lose. I summon…Lycanthrope."

A furious howling echoed through the room and the monster appeared. A thing of the wild, but covered in metal and wires, it grabbed Voldemort and threw him out of Harry's mind.

In an instant Harry was back in the normal world, but now there was the Lycanthrope in front of him, holding Voldemort by the neck. With a snarl the beast flung Voldemort away from it.

Harry stood and glared at Voldemort "We finish this now! Lycanthrope! Attack."

Voldemort thought he was finally doomed, until a voice, low and snarling, echoed in his mind /I seems you might need help…/

/Who are you?/

/You can call me…Zorc. I have a score to settle with the duelists who have allied with your enemy…together…/

/How can you help me?/

/Call upon my avatar! Call for Diabound!/

Voldemort called out the name of the monster, and it appeared, cutting down the Lycanthrope before it could finish its strike.

At that moment people started to flood into the ministry, including Dumbledore and the Minister.

/We must flee…for now…/ Voldemort said.

/Indeed./

With that the evil man and his new ally fled, leaving a stunned wizarding world in their wake…

* * *

A/N: Were you surprised to find that Diabound is now with Voldemort? Trust me, there will be an explanation. It ties in with White Lion that Bakura now has…


	48. Chapter 48

Chapter 48

Another Tale From the Past

* * *

Yami Bakura stared at the spot where Diabound had been, infuriated.

/That creature was supposed to be mine! What in the world…?/

/Little brother, I can explain, but not here!/ Gorneel said as he eyed the Minister of Magic, who was talking in a rapid scared manner to Dumbledore. /You have to get Azzeraell out of here! Who know what these wizards will do when they find the last elf here!/

Yami Bakura growled, but he saw the wisdom in Gorneel's words. Quickly he turned to go back, but Yami Yugi grabbed his arm.

"Tomb Robber, that monster…I have seen it before but I can not remember where…what do you know of it? Does it have something to do with-"

"Not now, Pharaoh."

"Tomb Robber-"

"Not now!"

Yami Yugi let go and watched as Yami Bakura ran off to find his elf friend. After a moment the King of Games followed him. Marik trailed along behind, starting to finally feel the headache he was getting from falling off a shelf.

Kaiba did not know how to get back to Hogwarts, but he would not follow Yugi like a puppy for any price, so hejust stood there and glared at everyone who dared look at him.

They found Azzeraell laying on the floor a few yards from Ron. Both of them were bleeding, though the fact that the elf was coughing up the blood was far more important to Yami Bakura at the moment then any pain the young Weasley was going through.

Yami Bakura, determined not to let the Ministry see an elf, summoned the shadows and used them to travel to the infirmary of Hogwarts while carrying Azzeraell, who did not look good at all. Yami Bakura was actually pretty scared. He had never known Azzeraell to be a weakling. The elf had always been able to take a lot of punishment and dish it out in return. It was…not right to see him so badly hurt by a mere human.

/He is pretty old after all Yami…/ Bakura said.

/Old!/ Yami Bakura snapped back…then he thought for a second. Bakura was right. The elf had already been about hundred years old (but who could tell with an elf)when Bakura first meet him, and that had been 5,000 years ago…yes the elf was old, but for some reason Yami Bakura had not thought of that at all.

If Madam Pomfrey was surprised to see a tall pointy eared humanoid in her infirmary she did not show it. Instead she found a bed for the elf and started looking through potions for something to repair his ribs and stop the internal bleeding. Unfortunately Azzeraell woke up in time to see the women approaching him with a steaming glass of green liquid and immediately pulled a knife and started spouting profanities in elven.

The fact that he was on his back during all of this was…rather amusing.

Yami Bakura approached him and said "Don't worry Azzeraell. This women is a healer, she is going to help you."

"King, with all due respect, her kind destroyed and enslaved mine!" Azzeraell snarled and coughed at the same time "I am not taking a blasted thing from her!"

"And if you don't take it you are going to die! You have a punctured lung you foolish man!" the witch said in exasperation.

"Azzeraell, I swear to you, if you shrink even the littlest bit in front of me I will slit your throat myself!" Yami Bakura said.

The elf's eyes snapped to him "You swear?"

"I do."

"Alright...I trust you boy." The elf grumbled as he drank the stuff "That is disgusting I will have you know."

"It's designed to heal you, not thrill you palate." Madam Pomfrey said huffily.

"Hmm, not a cook are you?" the elf said with a smirk.

"No, you ungrateful oaf!" she snarled back.

Azzeraell grumbled and muttered at her in his own language, which put Madam Pomfrey in an even fouler mood. Finally, however, Azzeraell had grumbled himself to sleep.

"You can tell no one at the Ministry that he is here!" Yami Bakura said.

Madam Pomfrey glared at him. "The only person I will tell of this…man's presence is Dumbledore and no one else."

"Good." Yami Bakura sat down beside the elf's bed. He was not going to budge.

At all.

Madam Pomfrey was giving the elf a curious look. Now that his mouth was closed and he was sleeping the nurse could not help but wonder what he was, precisly. He was unlike anything she had ever seen before.

"What is he?" she asked.

"He is an elf. A true elf." The dark spirit replied.

"Like a house elf?"

"Like what the house elves were long ago…" Bakura said, but he was tired…almost as tired as he had ever been. All of that magic had drained all of his energy. He too slipped to sleep.

Madam Pomfrey stared at the two for a few moments, then went about her business.

More people were coming for healing…

* * *

Bakura and his yami woke up around midnight to see Yugi and Marik there in the hospital wing, apparently waiting for him to wake up.

Yugi jumped out of the chair he had been sitting in, and bounded to Bakura "Hey, you two okay?"

Yami Bakura stepped out in spirit form, as did the Pharaoh.

"I am fine." Yami Bakura growled.

"Tomb Robber, I have seen a beast like the thing that Voldemort summoned before. I suspect that it has something to do with my ancient past…and you know about it, don't you?"

"I felt something when I saw it as well…" Marik said. Apparently since he had also been injured he had been granted a bed, as well as a bandaged head. "Like déjà vu."

"It's name was Diabound…and it…and I…" Yami Bakura got an odd look on his face "Huh…that is odd…"

"What is?" The Pharaoh asked.

"I…can't seem to remember…"

"The memories," Said Gorneel as he appeared beside them "are sealed. By Zorc no doubt. He would not want you to remember that Diabound was not your true Ka monster, little brother."

"What are you talking about, Gorneel?" The tomb robber asked.

"To answer your question we must revisit your childhood, little brother. You remember that the Items were made from the blood, bone and souls of your kindred?"

"How could I forget?"

"In the Shadow Realm there are not just monsters. There are also spirits. Some good, some bad. One of these spirits was called Zorc. He is a thing that feeds and grows stronger from the negative feelings of mortals. When the Items were formed they caused so much agony that they summoned Zorc to this plane, and then he saw you. You whose pain was greater then all of them, because you where alive and your pain would continue. He wished to feed off you, and so he tried to take over you. I, however, stopped him."

"How?"

"I…was not always a dragon, little brother. When I was thirteen years old I began to have dreams. Dreams of a golden dragon and an orb he had left behind. His name was Gorynycaheem, and for many months I had these dreams. My body began to change, I grew claws and wings and a tail, and the people of my village feared me, because they thought I was a demon. I fled, and went in search of the orb from my dreams. I found it in a huge wall of ice, and when I touched it its powers were transferred to me, and from then on I had the powers of the Dragon of Spirits. I could see and interact with ghosts and the undead and that is how I saw Zorc.

I knew he wished to feed of you, and I could not allow that to happen to a poor child that had lost his family. I created a shield for you against Zorc, and for years it held.

However, years later I was killed by the Pharaohs men, who of course thought me a monster. Dead I could not keep the shield up, and Zorc took his chance. You might not remember this, but he made a deal with you, little brother. He 'gave' you Diabound in order for you to take your revenge on the Pharaoh, though in fact he inflamed those feelings of hatred himself. That is how he controls people, not by outright possession, but by manipulating their feelings. You forgot about your true Ka beast, the White Lion, and used Diabound from then on…he did not even have to lift a finger to gain the Millennium Items, all he had to do was sit back and let you do it for him."

At this point Gorneel turned his eyes to Yami.

"You stopped Zorc, somehow you sealed both him and my little brother's souls into the ring. I am not sure how, but you did it. For centuries Zorc has influenced my little brother's actions, making him lust for power and vengeance. I have been trying to reach him all this time, but Zorc's power drowned out my cries. However, a few months ago something changed. Somehow Zorc was taken out of the ring and put somewhere else. He, of course, took Diabound with him. I do not know how it happened, but now Zorc is no longer influencing Afekia anymore."

Yami Bakura looked thoughtful, then he said "The Black Fox…when she came to me she took something from me…something dark…could it have been Zorc?"

Gorneel nodded "It must have been…"

Yami Yugi looked at Gorneel with hope "You…you know so much. You must know everything that happened back then! Tell me! Start with my name!"

"You name is Ak…Ak…" the dragon coughed "Ug…I know it…I should be able to say it!"

"How come you can say the Tomb Robber's name but not mine!" Yami was frustrated.

"Hmmm…the seal…I think…you somehow used your name as a seal. I am not sure of the specifics, and even if I did I doubt I could tell you much. I can probably only say the things that pertain to Afekia, because he never used that magic."

Yami deflated "So how do I find out what I need to know! Now that this Zorc is back we need to know how he was defeated last time!"

Gorneel glared at Yami "He was not defeated, he was sealed. You saved Egypt, but all you did was postpone the problem!"

"Then…how do we defeat Zorc…and Voldemort at the same time?" Marik asked.

"I…don't know." The golden dragon said "But…"

"But what Gorneel?" Yami Bakura asked.

Gorneel shook his head "Never mind."

_It is probably not that important…_

* * *

At the beginning of the school year, an owl had been sent to the various guardians of the transfers (with the exception of Kaiba, who was his own guardian thank you very much), in order to get signatures. One could not go to Hogsmead without signed forms from the guardians. Soloman Muto had signed the form with sheer glee. Ishizu had sighed with much trepidation. However, the last "guardian" had signed the thing with barely a glance, as he usually did with letters pertaining to his only son, without even noting the fact that it was from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in London, England.

Professor Bakura never paid any attention to his son's activities. Ryou Bakura could have gotten a dozen tattoos, bought a motorcycle, joined a gang and dyed his hair green and his father would never lift a finger.

So, the fact that his son had gotten on a plane to England and was now studying wizardry had completely gone over his father's head.

However, finally one letter got his attention in December. But that was because the man had managed to see the owl that delivered it. It had been from Professor McGonagall informing him that his son had been injured and was staying in England over Christmas.

The man, who had no idea that his son was in England, wrote back asking what this was about.

The next letter, rather sternly worded from the Head of Gryffindor House, told him in very simple terms that his son was a wizard and was going to the finest magic school…in England.

Puzzled, the man determined to see his son…for the first time in years. He wanted to know how in the world his son had suddenly become a wizard, and why in the world he had been the last person to know this. The fact that this was because he was a neglectful jackass had never crossed his mind. He made plans to go to England.

Now, months after the first letter, Professor Bakura was on a plane to England to look for his son…


	49. Chapter 49

An Author's Note: I have finally made a final decision…on the Millennium Items…

Warning: Character Death.

Chapter 49

The Last Two

* * *

"Oh, look at this wonderful piece of journalism, Bakura!" Marik said cheerfully as he waved the offending rag that is the Daily Prophet in front of the other boy's face "Look! 'He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named-Returns'! As if they have not been told that for a year…"

"They are desperately trying to not look like normal examples of humanity." Azzeraell grumbled from his bed "By which I mean 'bloody idiots'."

The spirit took control of Bakura and looked at the elf "Since when do you use the term 'bloody'? Since when do you use human curses at all?"

"Swearing in human amongst humans is a better idea then swearing at them in elven. Tends to insure that you stay the proper size." The elf said "And the more I sound like a modern human the more I blend in. I would think that you would have figured that out by now."

Yami Bakura muttered something about big headed elves. His eyes wandered over to the bed were Umbridge had been sulking for the past few days. He was very unimpressed with the efficiency of centaurs. Why had they not finished her off? Fortunately Madam Pomfrey had the presence of mind to keep her as far away from the elf as possible. Who knew what she might do is she saw Azzeraell?

"Can we leave NOW!" Marik moaned. He had been moaning this for the past hour. "I am SOOO BORED!"

"Yes, heaven forbid that the hyperactive humans of the world do not get constantly entertained." Azzeraell rolled his eyes. Marik stuck his tongue out at the elf. The elf returned the gesture along with something a bit ruder involving one of his fingers.

Yami Bakura could not really tell about those two…they either liked each other and just thought it was amusing to act like morons…or if they hated each other. Azzeraell had always had a weird sense of humor, and Marik was the epitome of "weird".

Fortunately, Madam Pomfrey arrived to save them all from the prospect of a bored Marik. "You can go now." She said "Just try not to crack your head open again. You," she glared at the elf "are dismissed as well. Please do not hesitate to use the door as fast as humanly possible." With that she left with one last glare at Azzeraell.

"Charming woman, isn't she?" the elf said mildly.

"Now that I think about it…where are you going to go, Azzeraell?" asked Yami Bakura as they walked out of the hospital and straight for the nearest sunshine. "You want to live in Japan with Bakura and me?"

Azzeraell rolled his eyes to the ceiling "I am uncertain. I do not really want to chance those rickety human sky chariot things…but I do not like the idea of living in the Forbidden Forest. Too many centaur. I can't abide centaur on a good day, you know that."

"Weeelll, maybe you can live at that Order of the Phoenix headquarters?" Marik suggested.

"No. London smells too much."

"…you are picky."

"You are just noticing this? Your powers of observation are just…astounding." The elf paused at a corridor and said "The kitchens are that way…correct?"

"Yeah, so?" Marik asked.

"I will see you later…I have to do something."

"With the house elves? What?" Marik asked.

"Hmmmm." The elf muttered then disappeared down the corridor.

"He is strange." Marik said.

"And the pot proceeds to call the kettle black." Bakura said. A few moments later he too stopped "Look Marik! It is Umbitch's Wall of Horrors!" he was staring at the wall that held the Educational Decrees. "You got any of those firecracker's left?"

"I sure do!" Marik said with a grin.

"Then…let's start demolition!" Bakura said with a grin.

"You know, you are becoming more and more like your yami every day…I didn't even notice when you changed back!"

Bakura just grinned as he started setting up the explosives.

* * *

Professor Bakura entered the Great Hall and ogled at the architecture around him. A ceiling that showed the outside! How wonderful!

"And who might you be?" a stern looking women, who had just been talking to some students along with another angry looking man, turned a laser look at the professor.

"I'm Professor Bakura…Ryou Bakura's father?" he said, not certain if he was in the right place.

"Are you serious?" of the children, an unpleasant looking blonde boy said "You are that crazy Mudblood's father? No wonder he is trash!"

"Malfoy, do you not have somewhere to be?" the stern woman said to the boy.

"Run along Draco." Said the man in a fake soft voice "You can bait the muggle some other time." The man gave Professor Bakura a chilling look. Snape disliked this man on sight, not because he was a muggle, but because he had a personal dislike for bad fathers.

"Mr. Potter, you should go as well." The stern woman said to the other boy, who gave Professor Bakura an odd look. He left, but as soon as he had turned the corner he pulled out his invisibility cloak and went right back the other direction. He wanted to hear this.

"What kind of school is this?" Professor Bakura asked.

"Is it not obvious?" Snape said "This is a school of magic. Your son is a wizard. Did you not read the letter?"

"Which letter?"

"The letter that was delivered to YOUR household inviting YOUR son to this school." Snape said. He wondered if Liver of Idiot was a viable potion ingredient.

"I live in Egypt. I'm the head archeologist at a dig. I have not seen my son in years."

It was good thing for him Professor McGonagall was not the kind of person who believed in turning people into newts, or this man would have suddenly found his nose mere inches from the floor.

"You left your son alone in Japan?" Snape asked _This explains quite a bit._ For the first time he felt a kinship with the Head of Gryffindor House. This was just…unbelievable. _Wonder what he would say if he knew about the thief. I am not going to tell him. Let that spirit take him to the Shadow Realm of his…this one just might deserve it._

"His aunt checks in on him." The muggle said lamely.

Professor McGonagall seemed to swell like an angry tigress. While she made it a point to be fair to each of her Gryffindors she could not tolerate any kind of abuse towards them. For years she had tried to think of ways to remove Harry from his relatives (with no success), but now she was faced not with abuse, but an almost as damaging case of neglect. The muggle seemed to shrink before her, for she had the kind of aura that could make almost anyone remember their strictest teacher from childhood and send them right back to that time (it did not work for people like Umbridge, i.e. people with bricks for brains, but it worked for most others). Worked for Professor Bakura very well in fact. Snape grinned and prepared to watch the show, willing to forget the animosity that existed between the two of them not second earlier.

But before McGonagall could pounce on her prey a voice rang out through the Great Hall.

"Hear ye! Hear ye! Come and witness the fall of the Pink Oppressor!"

"Ishtar." Snape and McGonagall said at the same time. Both of them struggled not to grin. They followed the string of students heading towards Marik's voice.

"If you want to see your son in action, you should follow us." Snape glared at the muggle with disdain.

Professor Bakura was shocked at what he saw. His son, holding what appeared to be a trigger, standing in front of a wall covered in framed papers that was also wired with firecrackers.

"Behold Independence Day!" The white-haired boy bellowed as he pushed a button. The wall's picture frames blew up with a resounding smash, and the entire school cheered.

The professor could not believe it. His son…a vandal?"

"Mr. Ishtar! Mr. Bakura!" Professor McGonagall, who had inwardly cheered at the sight of all those decrees going to paper heaven, had put her disciplinary face on. "You both have a night's detention for this stunt!"

"NOOO! No more Bloody Lines of DOOM!" Marik said, falling down in a dramatic fashion.

"SON!" Professor Bakura bellowed in Japanese.

Bakura, who had been spending his time watching his friend look like a moron, finally noticed his father. His eyes narrowed and he seemed to bristle. Only Marik, Professor McGonagall and Snape knew that this was the yami.

"What are YOU doing here?" he snarled.

"I…came to find you-"

"Oh, so it took you a YEAR to realize I was in ENGLAND!" Yami Bakura bellowed. "You piece of shit!"

"Don't talk to you father-"

"Father? FATHER! I don't see my father here! I see the man that might have contributed a chromosome or two to create this body, but I sure as HELL don't see a FATHER here!" With that Yami Bakura began to march away. Professor Bakura tried to get a hold of his arm, but the spirit shook him off and stalked away. Marik followed, pausing for a second to call Professor Bakura something very nasty in Arabic.

Professor Bakura stared at the two boy's retreating backs. He was shocked. He finally realized that he barely knew his own child…

"What have I done?" he muttered.

* * *

Yami Bakura was shaking with fury.

/How DARE he! How dare he! The little…the little…sand flea!/

/You did not have to be so mean! He's my father!/

/He is NOT a father to you! I cannot think of anything worse to do to a child then abandon them!/

"Ryou! Wait!"

"What do you want?" Yami Bakura refused to turn around.

"I…I'm coming home this year. I'll get a job at the university, I've had several offers there. I'm going to come live with you again. Ryou I am so-"

"Save it." Yami Bakura said "I don't care what you do." He started to walk away "You never keep your promises anyway…" _You have NEVER been a father to MY boy!_

Professor Bakura was left in the middle of the hallway, riddled with guilt.

* * *

Yugi, aware of the soap opera happening inside Hogwarts, was swimming in the lake, attempting to climb the rather friendly giant squid.

"Hey! Yugi!" Ginny's head bobbed to the surface "Isn't this one of your Item things!" she held up the Necklace.

"Ginny! How did you find it?" Yugi said.

"It was at the bottom of the lake, tangled in some kelp." She said.

He reached to take the Necklace…

They both saw it. Yami Yugi, Marik, Bakura, Kaiba, Harry, another person they could not see that well…and Ginny. All in a line.

Each holding an Item.

Ginny had the Necklace.

Then the vision was gone.

"Yugi…was that a vision?"

"Yes, that is what the Necklace does."

"Does…this mean?"

"I think…you should keep the Necklace." Yugi said.

Ginny felt as if a sudden weight had been dropped on her shoulders. She had a feeling that this might all end badly…very badly.

"But…"

Yugi smiled at her "Seven Items…this entire time people have been trying to collect all seven…but maybe that is not how to defeat Zorc. Maybe in order to defeat him there must be seven people. Seven Item Holders…seven friends."

Ginny grinned "Yami Bakura warned me about your friendship speeches…" she frowned "But I did see the vision. Maybe you are right. I'll take it…as long as you take it after Zorc is gone!"

Yugi smiled as she swam off. He wondered who would end up holding the last two items…he knew that somehow Kaiba would be roped into this…but who would have the last one. There was only the Eye and the Scales left…

Wait…the Eye!

Could it be…

* * *

"Pegasus."

The game creator turned to see one of the strangest things he had ever seen…and he watched cartoons more often then a nine year old.

The Black Fox.

"Well well now…who might you be?" the slightly unhinged man said.

The Black Fox grinned a demented grin. "I have something for you. I little glimpse into happier times…" she produced a glass orb from…somewhere and held it up to Pegasus' remaining eye. In it he saw the one thing he desired most. His dead wife.

"It's…real?"

"Of course not…it is…a phone if you will. A phone to the spirit world. You can speak with her, see her, but you cannot touch her…yet."

"Yet?"

"All beings die, little boy." The Fox said. "Be warned, this does come with a price." She pulled out the Millennium Eye.

"How did you get that?"

"Yami Bakura has no more use for this. Now I will tell you what I want. When the time comes you will stand with Yugi and the other Item holders. You will fight the evil with them. You will win…or see your love again in the next life."

Pegasus smiled "Well now, sounds like a good deal to me! A win win situation, in fact."

The Black Fox smiled "Isn't it?"

She faded away, watching the man/child fiddle around with the orb…

There was still one more thing to do. She traveled, though time…space…and whatever else was there.

She was a being with no barriers.

She approached her prey from behind, as a predator will do. She had never liked a manipulator that was…so clumsy in his efforts. How she hated this man! This…Egyptian. She approached the turbaned man with claws raised.

"Shadi." She muttered as her claws ripped into his back. "Consider yourself…fired." She grinned as she picked up the Millennium Scales. "You screwed this up once before, time for me to take the helm."

"Destiny…the…Items." The dying man muttered.

The Black Fox did not even notice his plight, nor did she care. She faded with the last Item.

Shadi felt a hand on his shoulder.

TIME TO GO.

He turned, and stared into the eye sockets of a skull, which seemed to jerk back.

AAAH! YOUR EYES…YOU'RE A BIT…CREEPY…

"You are a skull."

SKELETON, ACTUALLY. LOOK, I DON'T MEAN TO RUSH YOU, BUT I HAVE A SCHEDUAL TO KEEP HERE.

"Am I not supposed to be in Osiris' court now?"

I DON'T KNOW. DO YOU WANT TO BE?

"That is where I am supposed to go."

WELL, THEN THAT IS PROBABLY WHAT WILL HAPPEN. CAN'T PROMISE ANYTHING THOUGH.

"That creature that murdered me-"

AH YES, THE BLACK FOX. SHE DOES THESE KIND OF THINGS SOMETIMES. MIND YOU SHE IS BETTER COMPANY THEN SOME OTHER BEINGS.

"She will not get away with her theft! The Items will not allow it!"

AH HA…I DOUBT THAT. I HAVE NEVER KNOWN THE LIKES OF HER TO BE BESTED, ESPCIALLY NOT BY SOME GOLD. BUT ENOUGH OF THIS. The skeleton raised his scythe. IT IS TIME. DEATH WAITS FOR NO MAN, AFTER ALL.

* * *

The next morning, Seto Kaiba found the Millennium Scales on his desk. After a few moments contemplation he took them.

He did not believe in destiny, but he did believe in advantages.

For the first time in 5,000 years there were seven Item Bearers once again.

The Black Fox smirked.

* * *

A/N: Yeah…I never liked Shadi. He's a creep. And I did not need him in this fic, so yeah I killed him off. Hey, people kill off Tea all the time, why can't I kill Sir Creep?

Our skeleton friend is based of Discworld's Death. I hate the fact I do not have small caps…


	50. Chapter 50

Chapter 50

Not Exactly an Ending

* * *

The last few days of school passed rather quietly, to the relief of everyone involved. The only thing that really happened was, the night that Umbridge tried to sneak away, she was attacked and chased out by Peeves. The poltergeist sent her packing with whacks from both a walking stick and a bag of chalk. Soon, Marik and Bakura joined him, pelting her with Dungbombs as she fled.

Soon, she was gone, and the whole of Hogwarts rejoiced…well almost all.

Harry was in a depressed state after the death of Sirius. Yugi had at first wanted to talk with him. However, Bakura, Ron and Hermione thought that this was a bad idea. Ron and Hermione knew Harry enough to know when he wanted his space, and respected that need. Bakura had dealt with losing a loved one before, and he could also tell that Harry was not ready to talk about it.

None of them knew of the prophecy that Dumbledore had told Harry the day of the attack…

Bakura's father left almost the same day he arrived, saying he had to deal with some things at the dig so he could come home.

Bakura did not believe him, not for a minute.

Kaiba was also rarely seen, but this was because he finally admitted that his dragon was talking with him. He was starting to talk with her, and found himself oddly attracted to her. In public he would present the same cold persona, but around Kisara he was a different person, a person that only Mokuba had seen before. However, he was not quite ready to admit that he had a connection with an ancient priest, and whenever the dragon would try to talk about it he would change the subject.

Despite this, Kisara was happy. At least he was acknowledging her now.

* * *

There was one other little incident…

Ron and Hermione had found themselves hanging out with Bakura, Yugi and Marik more and more, mainly because Harry refused to look at anyone longer then two seconds. Today, Ron was facing down Yugi in wizard chess…

And Yugi was losing, not by much, but losing. Marik was desperately taping the event for posterity…or he would have if he had a camera (the fact that he did not caused him to groan in sorrow). Bakura was staring at clouds (he hated chess), and Hermione was reading a book.

Bakura tore his eyes from the fluffy things in the sky, he had felt something moving beside him. He looked and saw a small green snake slithering beside him. He smiled, he liked snakes.

"_What are you grinning at?"_ the snake hissed.

Bakura blinked, was he hearing things? Did the snake just talk? Marik apparently understood as well, because he looked over and hissed _"He's looking at you, apparently."_

"Hey! You're a Parselmouth?" Ron asked.

"Huh?"

"You can talk to snakes?" Hermoine frowned.

"Yes, of course I can." Marik said. "I'm a Tomb Keeper, remember? We all can talk to snakes! My sister can, both my parents can…heck it would be harder to find someone in my family who couldn't talk to snakes!"

"Really?" Ron said, amazed that Marik did not find this weird.

"Remember that snakes are sacred to Egyptians? The Pharaoh and his servants could all do it. In fact…Yugi, Bakura, could you understand that?"

"Yes." Yugi said, slightly shocked at this information. He had never known he could talk to snakes…but then again he had never tried it before. He looked at the snake and hissed _"Hi."_

The snake stared at him _"Hmmmm, interesting aura you got there, pal. You look a lot nicer than that Tom fellow."_

_"Wait…you know Voldemort?"_ Bakura said, surprised at the hissing sound coming out of his mouth.

The snake swung his head over to the boy _"Yes and no. I heard about him from others. Rather unpleasant fellow, from what I hear. Many of our kind hate him."_

_"Why?"_ Yugi asked.

_"Because he is nasty. And he gives use a bad name. Him and that sycophant lizard of hiss! Not all snakes automatically like Parselmouths, you know!"_

_"I see."_ Yugi said.

_"It's too bad that other boy won't talk to us. I think his Gryffindor ideas poisoned him to us. Shame, that. But then again, Gryffindor was never known for his…acceptance."_

_"What do you know about Gryffindor?"_ Asked Marik.

_"Let's just say…a basilisk was not the only secret in the Chamber of Secrets. Check it out for yourself, if you really are interested. It was nice talking to you, but I got to go. Places to go, things to do, mices to munch."_ The snake slithered away.

The three duelists stared after the snake, wondering what he knew. Hermione was staring at the three of them, her mind whirling. Was it coincidence that three of the duelists could speak to snakes, or did it have something to do with the Shadow Magic? Could all Shadow Mages talk to snakes? It was an interesting question, and she wanted to know the answer. However, since they were leaving Hogwarts tomorrow she felt that she could wait a bit for the answers.

Ron, however, did not really care. After all, Harry could talk to snakes as well…

* * *

The next day saw them on the train back to the station. Harry had gotten out of his funk long enough to talk with the others, but not about Sirius and not about the prophecy. After defending themselves from Malfoy and the Idiot Squad, they spent the train ride together, talking, dueling, and eating snacks from the trolley.

Finally, they reached the station, and Yugi felt a wave of weariness. For the other students it was only a short ride home from here.

The transfers had to catch a plane to Japan in a few hours.

As they were walking out Marik spotted the Dursleys, Harry's "family". It seemed they were being intimidated by some members of the Order of the Phoenix. Marik, sensing an opportunity for mischief, sauntered their direction. Yugi, Bakura and even Kaiba followed (Kaiba because he just had to see the looks on these moron's faces when they saw the guy who OWNED the gaming world strutting away in a Hogwarts uniform).

Vernon Dursley was shouting something about being intimidated, and Marik felt the urge to bellow "Hey Kaiba! What are the child protection laws in the whacked out country?"

"Hmm, I don't know. But I am sure it would involve lawsuits and prison cells." Kaiba grinned. How he loved baiting idiots.

Dursley stared at the people walking past him. He had gotten the hint. He also realized that drawing attention to himself might bring the Wrath of Kaiba down on his head. Though Kaiba did not specialize in drills every businessman including the anti-wizard slob knew the name, and the very presence of Kaiba was enough to shut Dursley up.

What was even funnier was the fact that they were ten feet away.

Such is the Power of Kaiba.

* * *

Joey was jumpy. It had been to long since he saw his buddy Yugi, and he had really missed the guy. Beside him Tea and Tristan looked almost as excited. Soloman Muto was also there, looking less jumpy but with a huge grin of anticipation. Ishizu and Odeon were also there, both looking as calm as clear lakes.

A horde of humans exited the plane from England, so much that the gang feared they would not see Yugi and the other two depart. However, a screeching black thing erupted into the air, and a pair of pale hands shot up and grabbed the annoyed mini dragon by the tail.

"Sorry! Malfunction!" A familiar voice shouted out. How Bakura had managed to smuggle Robot on the plane was a mystery, but he had done it somehow.

Joey grinned. Yugi was probably with Bakura…sure enough there he was! Soon Yugi found himself surrounded by his friends, and moments later Marik was also approached by his family, but at a much more sedate pace.

Bakura suddenly felt like he had been draped by Harry's invisibility cloak. Once again he was back to being the person looked at last. The fifth wheel. The hanger on. He sighed and started to back away. He remember his role well: fade into the background and only show up when his yami felt like going on a psychotic rampage…

Ishizu and Odeon had turned to welcome Yugi back, and Marik spied his friend sidling away. Quickly Marik slid over to Bakura and threw his arm over him.

"On the count of three let's ditch this lovey dovey fest, okay?" He said. "We got things to do, you and me! We got revolutionary pamphlets to write. We need to plan our next Hogwarts pranks…and eventually we might even study!"

"I agree, let's get out of here before they start to sing Kumbywhatever!" the spirit growled as he appeared over Bakura's shoulder.

Bakura grinned. He had been wrong. Things had changed. His yami was his friend. Marik was his friend.

He was not alone anymore.

And he was not the same either. He grinned and pulled out his last Dungbomb. "Tristan's head on three? Whoever gets it on the spike wins!"

Marik grinned and pulled another out. "One."

Yami Bakura smirked "Two."

Bakura leaned back and threw and did Marik "THREE!"

Both bombs landed beautifully. Tristan leaped into the air and howled. Marik and Yami Bakura laughed like loons, and Bakura grinned widely.

Ishizu turned and bellowed Marik's name. Marik grinned and ran, Bakura hot on his heels.

Joey stared at the two lunatics as they ran off "What is up with those two?"

Yugi smiled "They…are friends."

Laughing, Marik, Bakura and Yami Bakura exited the airport at a run, unaware of the black clouds that lay in both of their futures.

But for now, the laughter was enough.

* * *

A/N: End of Book one. Stay tuned for the sequel, which will follow Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Expect more Elder Breed. More Zorc. A secret that will change Marik's life, and a tragedy that will change Bakura's as well…

Coming soon: The Serpent's Blood.

Until next time…


End file.
